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BV    4010     .K5 

Kidder,  Daniel  P.  1815-189| 

The  Christian  pastorate    I 


THE 


CHRISTIAN  PASTORATE 


ITS 


CHARACTER,  RESPONSIBILITIES,  AND 
DUTIES. 


DANIEL  P.  KIDDER,  D.  D., 

Author  of^*A  Treatise  on  ffotniletics,'"  "Sketches  of  Residence  and 
Travels  in  Brazil y"  etc. 


H<^ 


C  INC  INN  A  TI: 
HITCHCOCK  AND   WALDEN. 

T^EAAT   YORK: 
NELSON  AND   PHILLIPS. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 

HITCHCOCK  &  WALDEN, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


-.nOLOQK- 


PREFACE. 


i  "XT EARLY    thirty-five   years    have    passed    away 

since  the  writer  first  entered  upon  the  duties 

of  the  Christian   Pastorater-'   The  earlier  periods  of 

his  public  life  introduced  him  successively  to  all  the 

principal    phases    of   pastoral    responsibility.      From 

those  days  to  the  present,  he  has  been  an  interested 

observer  of  the  manner  in  which  pastoral  duties  have 

been  discharged  (or  neglected)  in  his  own  and  other 

Churches,  at  home  and  abroad. 

As  anl  instructor  of  candidates  for  the   ministry, 

during  the  last   fifteen   years,  he   has   had   repeated 

occasion   to   review  and  discuss   the  whole   subject, 

both  in  the  light  of  his  personal  observation  and  of 

what  has  been  written  in  reference  to  it  by  others. 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

In  sequence  of  such  experiences  he  has  felt  called 
upon  to  prepare  the  present  volume,  with  the  de- 
sign of  supplying  a  d^ideratum  in  the  literature  of 
the  pastoral  office.  \J  Most  of  the  books  on  this  sub- 
ject, heretofore  published,  have  had  reference  to  con- 
ditions of  Church  organization  and  action,  very  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  the  voluntary  Churches  of  this 
country.  None  of  them  have  referred  prominently  to 
the  great  evangelical  experiment  incepted,  more  than 
a  hundred  years  ago,  for  "  the  spread  of  scriptural 
holiness  over  these  lands,"  and  throughout  the  world, 
under  the  auspices  of  "  the  people  called  Methodists.f 

In  view  of  the  success  of  that  experiment,  and  of 
its  widening  prospects,  it  now  seems  high  time  that 
the  theory  and  practice  of  pastoral  duty,  as  accepted 
by  American  Methodists,  should  have  a  full  exhibit, 
as  well  for  the  information  of  others  as  for  the  more 
systematic  instruction  of  our  own  young  ministers. 
Moreover,  as  the  duties  of  Churches  and  pastors  are 
reciprocal,  interblending  at  every  point,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  our  official  members  and  people  gener- 
ally, will  henceforth  become  more  studious  of  those 
duties  and  of  our  whole  system  of  Church  action,  as 


PREFACE,  5 

seen  from  its  practical  center,  the  pastoral  point  of 
view.  The  aim  of  this  book,  therefore,  is  not  merely 
to  elevate  the  standard  of  pastoral  character  and  effi- 
ciency, but  also,  by  general  circulation,  to  increase  the 
working  power  of  the  Church  in  every  department. 

Prompted  by  concurrent  motives  of  so  great  interest, 
the  task  of  the  author  has  been  an  agreeable  one,  and 
he  awaits  the  result  of  its  execution  with  hopefulness. 

EvANSTON,  May,  187  i. 


[■QNE  but  he  who  made  the  world  can  make  a  minister  oj  the 
gospeW''  John  Newton. 

^*  Some  preachers  study  their  sermons  without  studying  the 
people  to  whom  they  are  to  preach  them.'''' 

Rutherford. 

*^  By  repeated  experiments  we  learn  that  though  a  man  preach 
like  an  angely  he  will  neither  collect  (a  society')  nor  preserve  a 
society  which  is  collected,  without  visiting  them  from  house 
to  house.''''  John  Wesley. 

"  The  ministry  is  the  best  calling,  but  the  worst  trade  in  the 
world:'  Matthew  Henry. 


CONTENTS. 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF   RELIGIOUS  OFFICES. 

Ideal  of  the  Christian  ministry  found  in  the  New  Testament.  Bet- 
ter comprehended  through  a  consideration  of  its  historical  antecedents. 
Primeval  origin  of  sacrifices.  Probable  divine  appointment.  Symbolic 
design.  Importance  of  the  Patriarchal  dispensation.  Faith  an  element 
of  the  worship  it  enjoined.  Origin,  diffusion,  and  consequences  of  idol- 
atry. The  Jewish  priesthood.  Symbolism  of  its  office  and  system  of 
worship.  The  prophets.  End  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  The  min- 
isterial character  of  Christ.  Its  comprehensiveness.  Harmony  of  the 
Messianic  offices.  Christ  a  Prophet.  The  great  Teacher.  A  Fore- 
teller of  future  events.  The  priesthood  of  Christ.  Sacrifice  and  inter- 
cession the  great  central  function  of  the  Messiah.  Christ's  kingly  office. 
No  succession  to  his  priesthood  possible.  .        .        .         page  25 

CHAPTER   I. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY  AS  INSTITUTED  BY  CHRIST,  THE  HEAD 

OF  THE  CHURCH  AND  FOUNDER  OF  THE  NEW 

DISPENSATION. 

Christ  alone  had  the  right  to  appoint  whatever  services  his  Church 
might  require.  Christian  ordinances  being  few  and  simple,  only  a  spir- 
itual ministry  was  needed.  Christ's  example  and  precepts  in  the  estab-, . 
lishment  of  such  a  ministry  authoritative.  Calling  and  instruction  of 
his  disciples.  First  public  mission  of  the  Twelve.  Mission  of  the 
Seventy.  The  moral  harvest-field.  Mode  and  authority  of  Church 
discipline.  Tests  of  character.  Ministers  must  be  prepared  for  per- 
secution. Christ's  instruction  gradual.  Prayers  for  his  ministers.  The 
great  commission  involves  the  pastoral  office.  Apostolic  idea  of  the 
ministry.     Ordination  of  Matthias.     Apostolic  administration  in  the 

9 


lO  CONTENTS. 

Church  at  Jerusalem.  Results,  Appointment  of  deacons.  Ordination 
of  elders  in  all  the  Churches.  Paul's  address  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus. 
Peter's  exhortation  to  elders.  Apostolic  measures  for  instructing  and 
training  future  ministers.  Summary  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles.  The 
divine  call.  Personal  and  ministerial  character.  Ministerial  studies. 
Pastoral  influence  and  Church  discipline.  Instruction  and  appointment 
of  future  ministers.  Mosheim's  comments  on  this  phase  of  apostolic 
labor.     Scriptural  portraiture  of  the  Christian  ministry.      .      page  53 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   MINISTERIAL   CALL — HISTORICAL  VIEW. 

Old  Testament  examples  of  the  divine  call.  Christianity  employed 
only  spiritual  agencies  for  its  propagation.  Practice  of  the  apostolic 
Church.  The  call  and  appointment  of  Matthias.  Of  the  seven  dea- 
cons. Of  the  apostle  Paul.  Of  the  elders  of  the  Churches.  Great 
though  gradual  apostasy  of  the  Church  from  the  true  theory  of  the 
Christian  ministry.  Adoption  of  the  terms  priesthood  and  priest.  En- 
croachments of  the  hierarchical  principle.  Unknown  to  Justin  Martyr. 
Developed  by  Cyprian.  Strongly  stated  by  Chrysostom.  Enlarged 
and  confirmed  by  the  Apostolic  Constitutions.  Disorders  attending 
clerical  elections  promotive  of  monasticism.  Waste  of  the  best  talent 
of  the  Church  during  successive  centuries.  Results  of  the  sacerdotal 
theory.  Joint  imitation  of  Judaism  and  Paganism.  Device  of  the 
mass.  Transubstantiation  and  kindred  errors.  Dishonor  of  Christ 
and  his  perfect  sacrifice.  Tenacity  of  the  error  even  in  modern  times. 
The  opposite  extreme.  Traces  of  the  true  theory  still  left  in  forms 
of  ordination.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen.  Pluralities  and  non-residence. 
Bernard  of  Clairvaux.  The  great  Reformation  reacted  in  favor  of  the 
New  Testament  idea  of  the  ministry.  Luther.  Calvin.  The  English 
reformers.  The  ordination  formula  of  the  English  Church.  Bishop 
Burnet's  comments.  Rebuke  of  hypocritical  pretenders  to  a  divine 
call.  Fletcher  of  Madeley.  Legh  Richmond.  Deplorable  results 
throughout  Great  Britain.  The  Wesleyan  revival  gave  great  prom- 
inence to  the  doctrine  of  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry.  Providential 
guidance  of  Wesley  in  regard  to  the  subject.  Maxfield.  Whitefield. 
Results  of  a  just  conception  of  the  ministerial  call.         ,         page  74 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE   MINISTERIAL   CALL — PRACTICAL  VIEW. 

The  Christian  ministry  not  a  priesthood,  but  a  service  to  which  men 
are  called  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  also  by  the  Church.  Scriptural  exam- 
ples.    The  Holy  Spirit  calls  in  divers  manners.     Different  experiences 


CONTENTS,  1 1 

of  the  apostles  and  of  other  true  ministers.  Different  stages  of  inquiry 
and  of  conviction.  Danger  of  demanding  ultimate  convictions  at  the 
stage  of  preliminary  inquiry.  Proper  view  of  minor  questions.  The 
great  central  inquiry  should  be  as  to  God's  will.  Modes  in  which  God's 
will  is  indicated.  Primary  anxiety.  The  divine  impulse  real,  but  not 
compulsory.  Analogies  of  Christian  experience.  Increased  light  fol- 
lows obedience,  leading  to  clear  and  positive  conviction  of  duty.  Cor- 
roborative action  of  the  judgment.  Dignity  and  responsibility  of  the 
office.  Personal  adaptation  depends  largely  on  cultivation.  Reason  for 
the  usual  experience  of  an  early  call.  Moral  and  spiritual  adaptation. 
Motives.  Providential  guidance.  Corroborative  action  of  the  Church. 
Coincident  experience  usual  and  desirable.  Distinction  between  the 
internal  and  the  external  call.  Apostate  Churches  void  of  spiritual 
authority.  Concurrence  of  reasons.  Conviction  of  duty  should  be 
followed  by  zealous  preparation.  May  be  expected  to  increase  through- 
out life.  The  ministry  only  one  among  many  agencies  of  Christian 
usefulness. page  105 

CHAPTER   IV. 

CLASSIFICATION    OF    MINISTERIAL   DUTIES. — THE    TWO    GREAT 

FUNCTIONS   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY — 

EVANGELICAL — PASTORAL. 

Duties  of  the  ministry  numerous.  Embraced  in  two  principal  classes.  -^ 
Preaching  and  the  pastoral  care  have  a  common  object,  but  different 
modes  of  attaining  it.  Distinctions.  Correspondences.  The  two  func- 
tions separable.  Limitation  of  the  pastorate.  Preaching  diffusive  and 
of  constant  obligation.  Specially  important  as  a  means  of  introducing 
the  gospel.  Illustrated  in  Christ's  example.  The  pastorate  appointed 
near  the  close  of  his  earthly  mission.  Ordinances  instituted.  A  plu- 
rality of  preachers  needed.  The  disciples  and  apostles  went  forth 
to  preach  two  by  two.  Causes  for  the  division  of  ministerial  labor. 
The  Sabbath  a  special  occasion  for  preaching.  Erroneous  theories. 
I.  Importance  and  universal  adaptation  of  preaching.  2.  Moral  and 
perpetual  obligation  of  the  preaching  office.  Evangelism  aggressive. 
Fields  should  be  sought.  Pastoral  work  chiefly  done  on  week-days. 
Time  to  be  redeemed  for  pulpit  preparation.  The  gospel  not  limited 
by  parochial  jurisdiction.  Ordinations  not  limited  to  actual  pastors. 
Ministers  should  not  forsake  their  calling.  Ordination  contemplates 
both  branches  of  ministerial  duty.  Scriptural  examples.  Corruptions 
of  the  ancient  Church.  Forced  ordinations.  Tactual  succession.  Char- 
acter and  results  of  the  theory.  Practical  unity  of  evangelical  Churches 
as  to  the  practice  and  design  of  ordination.  Ordination  vows  and 
charges page  133 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

SPECIAL  CHARACTER  AND  RESPONSIBILITY  OF  THE  PASTORATE. 

Preliminary  views.  The  office  anticipated  in  Judaism  and  in  proph- 
ecy. First  fully  appointed  and  established  by  Christ  near  the  close  of 
his  earthly  mission.  It?  three  watch-words  "feed,  guide,  guard."  Its 
continuance  in  the  Church,  with  variations  in  different  countries,  times, 
and  circumstances.  Characteristic  differences  in  State  and  voluntary 
Churches.  Advantages  in  the  latter.  Correspondent  though  less  favor- 
able condition  of  the  New  Testament  Churches.  Scriptural  standard 
of  pastoral  character,  i .  The  pastoral  character  of  the  Messiah  as  fore- 
shadowed by  prophecy.  2.  The  developed  character  of  Christ  as  the  chief 
shepherd  of  God^s  spiritual  fold.  The  shepherd  and  the  lamb  blended 
in  Christ.  The  sheep  of  Christ's  fold  to  be  distinguished  by  a  mark 
upon  their  foreheads  (character).  The  Church  the  Lamb's  wife.  The 
new  Jerusalem  the  eternal  home  of  Christ's  ransomed  flock.  The  duty 
of  under-shepherds  to  impress  Christ's  mark  or  character  upon  every 
member  of  his  flock.  3.  The  appointment  of  pastors  as  Chrisfs  under- 
shepherds.  Old  Testament  allusions.  Christ's  acceptance  and  employ- 
ment of  the  same.  His  discourse  on  the  shepherd  and  the  sheep.  His 
solemn  and  emphatic  charge  to  Peter.  The -great  commission  embodies 
the  pastoral  idea  and  perpetuates  pastoral  obligation.  4.  The  apostolic 
idea  of  the  pastoral  office.  Direct  precepts.  Figurative  illustrations 
of  pastoral  duty,  (i.)  Teachers.  (2.)  Watchmen.  (3.)  Overseers. 
(4.)  Fathers.  (5.)  Builders.  (6.)  Stewards.  The  obligation  of  faith- 
fulness. The  responsibility  of  the  pastoral  office  intensified  by,  i.  The 
divine  appointment.  2.  The  nature  of  the  work.  Heretofore  regarded 
as  a  personal  agency.  Its  organic  power.  Its  sufficiency  must  come 
from  God page  153 

CHAPTER  VI. 

QUALIFICATIONS  DESIRABLE  IN  A  CHRISTIAN  PASTOR. 

High  and  peculiar  qualifications  demanded.  The  most  importa.nt 
classified.  I.  Experience,  i.  Of  piety.  2.  Of  a  divine  call.  3.  Of 
Church  life  and  labor — e.  g.^  in  Sunday-schools,  lay  preaching,  and 
home  missions.  4.  Of  the  power  and  pleasure  of  exerting  good  in- 
fluence. II.  Knowledge.  Its  essential  value.  Different  branches. 
I.  Self-knowledge — physical,  mental,  moral.  Helps  to  self-knowledge- 
Advantages.  2.  The  knowledge  of  society  and  of  men.  3.  A  knowl- 
edge of  books.  Its  necessity.  Classes  of  books.  4.  An  acquaint- 
ance with  theology,  (i.)  Biblical.  (2.)  Doctrinal.  (3.)  Historical. 
(4 )  Practical.     5.  Skill  in  the  modes  and  means  of  using  knowledge. 


CONTENTS.  1 3 

Knowledge  most  valuable  for  its  uses.  In  education,  training  and 
discipline  superior  to  mere  learning.  Different  systems  of  education 
with  reference  to  these  objects.  The  greatest  possible  combination  of 
advantages  desirable.  Error  of  those  who  neglect  advantages  within 
their  reach.  Will  the  Church  hereafter  tolerate  such  neglect.'*  Re- 
sponsibility of  ministers  and  Conferences.  Causes  of  inadequate  efforts 
to  acquire  knowledge.  History  illustrates  the  necessity  of  institutions 
for  ministerial  education  and  training.  Personal  effort  necessary  to 
profit  fully  by  educational  advantages.  Institutions  should  be  practical, 
specially  in  cultivating  powers  of  expression  and  influence.  III.  Char- 
acter. Distinguished  from  reputation.  Phases  of  character.  Special 
importance  of  ministerial-  character.  Demand  and  scrutiny  of  the 
Church  respecting  it.  No  point  of  character  to  be  overlooked.  Each 
one  the  architect  of  his  own  character.  Importance  of  an  exalted  ideal 
and  of  a  constant  study  of  character.  Fletcher's  "  Portrait  of  St.  Paul." 
Ministers  should  study  and  portray  Scripture  characters.  Historic 
characters.  Characters  of  living  men.  Character  in  its  essential  ele- 
ments. A.  Personal  traits.  Amiability.  Dignity.  Discretion.  Def- 
initeness  of  aim.  Impartiality.  Independence.  Decision.  Energy. 
Perseverance.  Courage  and  hopefulness.  B.  Religious  quaUties  of 
character.  Heavenly-mindedness.  Love.  Sympathy.  Heart-power. 
Increased  attention  to  its  importance.  Zeal.  C.  Habits  or  modes  of 
action.  Activity  and  diligence.  Accuracy  and  thoroughness.  Prompt- 
ness and  punctuality.  Self-adaptation.  Paul's  example.  Inventive- 
ness. Consistency.  Bishop  Ken's  portrait  of  a  pastor.  Wesley's 
address  to  the  clergy page  177 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   DUTIES    OF  A  PASTOR — PERSONAL. 
/ 
Pastoral  duties  classified.     Personal  duties  arising  FROM  PHYSICAL 

RELATIONS.  Importance  of  physiological  knowledge  and  cultivation. 
Vigorous  health.  Exercise.  Jay.  Dempster.  Temptations  to  inac- 
tivity. Danger  of  feebleness  and  bad  habits.  The  improvement  of  time. 
Necessity  of  a  plan.  Wesley's  rules.  Specimen  of  a  plan.  Mode  of 
securing  the  co-operation  of  thfe  people.  Advantages  of  a  systematic 
distribution  of  time.  Mental  Cultivation.  Ministerial  life  favor- 
able to  a  broad  culture.  Danger  of  losing  enthusiasm.  A  sketch. 
Topical  study.  An  important  motto.  The  preparation  of  sermons. 
Mental  productiveness.  Thinking  to  be  blended  with  exercise.  Hard 
study  recommended.  A  pastor's  library.  Topics  it  should  repre- 
sent. A.  Ministerial  helps.  B.  Helps  to  general  knowledge.  C.  Helps 
to  thought  and  mental  growth.  D.  Miscellany.  Modern  advantages 
in  book-buying.     Church  libraries.    Caveat  against  light  literature. 


14  CONTENTS. 

Newspapers.     Proper  mode  of  reading.     Classification  of  extracts. 
The  pastor's  note-book.     Its  design  and  uses.     Domestic  and 

RELIGIOUS  duties PAGE  244 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   DUTIES   OF  A  PASTOR — PUBLIC — OFFICIAL. 
1/ 

Serial  order  of  treatment  proposed.  An  organized  Church  prerequi- 
site to  the  complete  ideal  of  a  pastorate.  A  pastorate  equally  necessary 
to  a  complete  Church.  The  pastoral  office  not  essentially  modified  by 
variations  in  Church  polity.  Pastoral  economy  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  The  itinerancy.  Its  design  and  spirit.  A  new  pastor 
FORMING  ACQUAINTANCE.  Facilities  and  helps.  Motives  for  a  prompt 
and  full  acquaintance  with  all  the  members  of  his  Church  and  congre- 
gation. The  duty  of  being  social  and  courteous.  Value  of  kind  words. 
Presidency  of  the  leaders'  and  stewards'  meeting.  The  reception  of 
MEMBERS  a  pastoral  responsibility.  Argument  of  Coke  and  Asbury. 
Probation.  The  pastor's  duty  to  enroll  probationers  and  diligently  in- 
struct them.  Reception  to  full  membership.  The  administration 
OF  baptism.  To  children.  Adults.  The  proper  period.  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Lord's-Supper.  Confirmation  a  pastoral  duty, 
not  a  sacrament  or  exclusively  episcopal  rite.  The  Church  Record. 
Its  proper  keeping  a  duty  of  the  preacher  in  charge.  Its  importance 
and  several  departments.  Special  uses  of  Church  records.  Publica- 
tion recommended.  The  appointment  of  class-leaders  and  com- 
mittees. The  preservation  of  order  and  harmony.  The  pastor  as  a 
peace-maker.  Church  discipline.  Pastor's  relation  to  Church  tri- 
als. Dismissing  and  receiving  members  by  certificate.  Welcome 
to  strangers page  271 


CHAPTER   IX. 

relations  and  duties  of  a  church  to  its  pastor. 

Duties  reciprocal.  The  pastorate  a  divine  gift.  The  Scriptures 
indicate  the  following  duties  of  Churches  to  pastors :  i.  To  receive 
them  gladly  and  welcome  them  cordially.  Paul's  instructions.  The 
"open  and  effectual  door."  The  humblest  members  share  the  respon- 
sibility of  a  pastor's  welcome.  2.  To  give  pastors  an  attentive  and 
reverent  hearing.  The  minister  entitled  to  this  in  behalf  of  the  Master. 
Consideration  due  to  youthful  ministers.  3.  To  sustain  them  gener- 
ously. Estimates  should  be  just  and  liberal,  comprehending  not  only 
family  support,  but  intellectual  wants.  Church  libraries.  4.  Churches 
and  Church  members  should  love  their  pastors  and  pray  for  them. 


CONTENTS.  15 

5.  Should  recognize  and  sustain  their  spiritual  authority.  6.  Should 
honor  their  pastors  and  guard  their  reputation.  7.  Should  co-oper- 
ate with  them  earnestly  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  8.  Should  comfort 
them  in  affliction,  and  dismiss  them  kindly.  Justice  and  liberality  to 
superannuated  ministers.  Mutual  duties  in  a  system  of  pastoral  rota- 
tion.   PAGE  303 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PASTOR  AS  A  LEADER  AND  GUIDE  OF  WORSHIP. 

A  pastor's  obligations  extend  beyond  his  Church  members.  The 
sanctuary  open  to  all.  Universal  man  a  worshiper.  Christianity 
adapted  to  his  religious  necessities.  Errors  of  ceremonial  worship. 
Essential  character  of  true  worship.  The  pastor  a  recognized  leader 
in  worship,  public  and  social.  Great  responsibility  arising  from  this 
position.  Requisite  preparation.  The  initiation  of  worship.  Church 
associations  should  be  sacred.  Sin  of  polluting  a  sanctuary  with  sec- 
ular amusements  and  common  uses.  Possible  forms  of  acceptable 
worship.  Principal  elements.  Singing  praise.  Its  universal  obli- 
gation. A  pastor's  influence  upon  this  branch  of  worship.  Prayer. 
The  proper  attitude.  Scriptural  exhortation.  Responses.  Elements 
of  edifying  extempore  prayer.  Means  of  preparation.  Its  faults. 
Scriptural  direction.  The  Lord's  prayer.  Reading  the  Script- 
ures. Modes  of  rendering  this  exercise  interesting  and  profitable. 
The  holy  sacrament  as  an  occasion  of  worship.  Religious  objects 
attainable.  Prayer-meetings.  Their  prominence  in  Wesleyan  econ- 
omy. Means  of  securing  attendance  and  of  rendering  them  profitable. 
Various  kinds.  Suitable  places.  Mode  of  conducting,  Skill  needed. 
Profitable  variations.  Modern  experiences.  Bramwell's  rules.  Love- 
feasts.  Their  antiquity  and  design.  Importance  of  a  skillful  presi- 
dency. Opposite  faults  of  dullness  and  excitement.  Mutual  edifica- 
tion the  object.  Inquiry-meetings.  Special  design.  Occasions  and 
advantages.  Pastoral  requisites  to  their  success.  Class-meetings. 
The  pastor  should  be  a  good  class-leader.  Should  regularly  lead  a 
class.  Should  visit  classes.  Worship  in  social  assemblies  to  be  pro- 
moted by  pastors page  318 


CHAPTER  XI. 

the   PASTOR  IN   HIS   PULPIT. 

Importance  of  preaching.  Its  bearing  on  various  activities  of  the 
Church.  Its  relation  to  pastoral  duties.  Elements  of  success  in 
1  reaching  as  part  of  a  pastor's  work.     i.  He  must  cherish  just  ideas 


1 6  CONTENTS, 

of  the  office  and  responsibility  of  preaching.  2.  An  exalted  idea  of 
the  character  and  results  of  a  sermon.  3.  The  pastor  should  practice 
a  judicious  brevity.  4.  He  should  make  sure  of  variety  in  subjects  and 
modes  of  treatment.  5.  He  should  practice  continuous  expositions  of 
God's  word.  Remarks  of  Crosby,  Spurgeon,  and  Tholuck.  6.  He 
should  acquire  the  habit  of  mentally  preparing  sermons  while  doing 
pastoral  work.  7.  He  should  deliver  his  sermons  with  feeling  and 
effect.  8.  He  should  sustain  his  pulpit  utterances  by  his  life  and 
example.  9.  He  should  regard  prayer  an  auxiliary  of  pulpit  suc- 
cess. Spurgeon's  exhortation.  Glorious  privileges  of  a  Christian 
pulpit PAGE  342 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   PASTOR   IN   HIS   SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Advantages  of  a  division  of  Christian  labor  illustrated  in  the  history 
of  Sunday-schools.  The  Sunday-school  idea  not  new.  Embodied  in 
the  original  appointment  of  the  Sabbath.  Developed  in  Judaism. 
More  perfectly  developed  by  Christ.  Long  overlooked  by  the  Church. 
Revived  near  the  close  of  the  Eighteenth  Century.  The  Schools  of 
Raikes,  secular  and  philanthropic.  "Wesley  saw  that  they  might  be- 
come nurseries  for  Christians.  Gratuitous  instruction  and  Church 
affiliation  made  them  such.  The  Sunday-school  should  always  be  an 
actual  and  recognized  auxiliary  of  the  Church — a  part  of  itself  and  its 
work.  Causes  which  might  put  it  and  the  pastor  in  a  false  position. 
Special  claims  of  a  Sunday-school  upon  its  pastor.  His  true  relation 
to  it  that  of  a  spiritual  overseer.  Summary  of  a  pastor's  duties  to  his 
Sunday-school,  i.  To  impress  on  parents  their  duties  and  obligations. 
2.  To  enlist  teachers  and  show  the  importance  of  their  work.  3.  To 
raise  funds.  4.  To  aid  in  selecting  books  and  periodicals ;  also,  5.  Les- 
sons and  plans  of  instruction.  6.  To  devise  plans  of  improvement. 
7.  To  address  the  school  and  preach  to  children.  8.  To  catechise  and 
see  that  children  are  grounded  in  Christian  doctrine.  9.  To  maintain 
a  teachers'  Bible-class.  10.  To  read  up  on  the  Sunday-school  enter- 
prise and  study  its  philosophy.  11.  To  encourage  the  connection  of 
children  and  teachers  with  the  Church.  A  pastor  should  take  broad 
views  of  the  design  and  power  of  the  Sunday-school  system.  Its  aid  to 
missions.  Its  agency  in  promoting  systematic  beneficence — in  recruit- 
ing the  Church.  Its  promise  for  the  Church  and  the  world.  Pastors 
should  co-operate  with  each  other  in  general  Sunday-school  measures, 
and  in  securing  the  cumulative  advantages  of  Sunday-schools.  They 
should  enlist  children  for  life.  They  should  give  to  Sunday-schools 
their  constant  sympathy,  solicitude,  and  co-operation.  How  to  retain 
the  larger  scholars page  359 


CONTENTS,  I J 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

THE    PASTOR  AND    HIS    SYSTEM    OF   BOOK,    PERIODICAL,  AND 
TRACT   SUPPLY. 

Importance  of  making  the  press  auxiliary  to  pastoral  work.  Danger 
of  its  opposite  influence.  Necessity  of  warnings  against  corrupt  pub- 
lications, and  of  instruction  with  reference  to  reading  as  a  means  of 
Christian  improvement.  Pastors  should  encourage  the  provision  of 
good  BOOKS  and  libraries  in  all  Christian  families.  Our  system  con- 
templates this  work.  Recent  neglect  and  its  consequences.  Remedies 
and  means  of  making  them  successful.  Home  colportage.  Sin  of 
indifference.  Religious  Periodicals.  Motives  for  their  circulation. 
Tract  and  volume  circulation  as  an  agency  of  evangelization.  Pre- 
cedence of  Wesley  and  activity  of  early  Methodists  in  this  cause.  Its 
past  progress  and  results  full  of  encouragement  to  future  effort.  The 
Church  requires  pastoral  activity  in  this  department.  Approved  agen- 
cies and  methods page  373 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   PASTOR  AND   HIS    LAY  HELPERS. 

The  Church  designed  for  results,  not  ceremonies.  Internal  results 
to  be  an  instrumentality  of  external  growth  and  power.  Messianic 
prophecy  and  the  Savior's  commands  contemplated  both.  The  apos« 
tolic  Church  illustrated  both.  Faithful  Churches  designed  to  be  work- 
ing Churches.  Proof  from  Christ's  addresses  to  the  Seven  Churches 
of  Asia  Minor.  Successful  labor  requires  organization.  Pastors  should 
study  the  importance  and  art  of  organizing  successful  measures  and 
agencies.  Duty  of  furnishing  religious  employment  to  Church  mem- 
bers. Necessity  of  system.  Comprehensiveness  and  efficiency  of  our 
•Church  system.  Its  three  departments  of  finance,  pastoral  aid,  and 
home  evangelization.  I.  Finance.  Christianity  demands  liberality  in 
giving,  also  activity  in  all  good  works.  Requisitions  of  the  Church  in 
both  regards.  Work  a  means  of  grace.  II.  Pastoral  and  Christian 
helpers.  Class-leaders.  Means  of  promoting  a  general  appreciation 
of  class-meetings.  Of  securing  a  supply  of  competent  leaders.  Fe- 
male class-leaders.  Their  special  adaptations.  Duty  of  instructing 
and  examining  leaders.  The  higher  objects  of  the  class-meeting.  Dif- 
ferent necessities  of  pastoral  work  in  different  places.  City  and  coun- 
try. Mission  schools.  Union  efforts.  A  just  catholicity  recommended. 
Effective  Church  action  demands  cordial  sympathy  and  constant  co-op- 
eration between  a  pastor  and  his  people.  The  pastor  is  invested  with 
important  duties,  e.  g.:  i.  To  work  his  own  Church  system  thoroughly. 

2 


1 8  CONTENTS. 

2.  To  appoint  extra  committees,  as  occasion  may  require.     Optionally, 

3.  To  organize  a  Christian  association  within  his  Church.  4.  A  read- 
ing circle.  5.  A  private  Prayer  Union.  6.  A  Ladies'  and  Pastor's 
Christian  Union.  Importance  of  enlisting  women  in  the 'active  service 
of  Christ.  III.  Home  evangelization.  Lay  preaching  a  part  of  our 
Church  system.  Its  double  advantages.  The  pastor  and  his  lay 
preachers.  Open-air  preaching.  Local  preachers'  conventions  and 
associations.  Present  desideratum  in  respect  to  this  agency.  Possi- 
bility of  increasing  its  power.  Wesley's  remark.  Praying  Bands-  Idea 
and  character.  Their  proper  work.  These  agencies  not  designed  to 
relieve  the  Church  as  a  whole  or  individual  Christians  from  responsibil- 
ity and  active  Christian  effort.  Possible  modes  of  doing  good.  Cavil 
of  an  objector.  Moral  machinery  important  in  its  place.  Yet  only 
valuable  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  work  of  the  Spirit.  The  duty  of  mak- 
ing all  things  subsidiary  to  the  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom.  Mag- 
nanimity toward  fellow-laborers page  384 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    PASTOR    IN    HIS    RELATION    TO    REVIVALS    AND    REVIVAL 
AGENCIES. 

The  nature  of  true  religion.  The  necessity  and  nature  of  revivals. 
Old  Testament  examples.  Scriptural  prayers  for  revival.  Exhorta- 
tions, promises,  and  prophecies.  Christianity  itself  a  revival.  Christ's 
ministry  of  a  revival  type.  His  precepts  and  promise  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  point  to  future  revivals.  Spiritual  decline  of  the  ancient  Church. 
The  Reformation  a  revival.  Methodism  a  revival.  Its  historic  idea. 
Frequency  and  prevalence  of  modern  revivals.  Ministerial  duty  to  be 
studied  in  the  light  and  hope  of  revivals.  I.  Why  should  pastors  seek 
to  promote  revivals.?     i.  In  order  to  promote  the  salvation  of  men. 

2.  In  order  to  promote  the  work  of  salvation  to  a  wider  extent.  3.  Re- 
vivals harmonize  with  man's  wants  and  God's  will.  4.  They  are  of 
great  advantage  to  the  Church.  Testimony  of  Edwards,  Dr.  Sprague, 
Bishop  M'llvaine,  Wesley,  and  others.  5.  Revivals  increase  minis- 
terial power.  6.  Revivals  are  the  harvest  seasons.  II.  How  may 
revivals  be  promoted?  The  history  of  revivals  should  be  stud- 
ied.     I.  Christian    preparation.     2.  The    outpouring   of   the    Spirit. 

3.  Revival  preaching.  4.  Continuous  Christian  effort,  (i.)  Prayer. 
(2.)  Christian  conversation.  (3.)  Judicious  instruction.  (4.)  Fervent 
praise.  (5.)  The  activity  of  young  converts.  General  evangelical 
agencies.  A.  Protracted  meetings.  Analogy  of  the  Christian  Festi- 
vals. Advantages  enumerated.  B.  Camp-meetings.  Origin.  Char- 
acter. Prospective  continuance.  Claims  on  pastors.  C.  Daily  prayer- 
meetings.     III.  Means  of  perpetuating  the  fruits  of  revivals.     Church 


CONTENTS.  19 

membership.  Watch-care,  sympathy,  and  instruction.  Methodism 
adapted  to  pastoral  work.  Relation  and  necessity  of  pastoral  work 
to  revivals  and  their  best  fruits page  419 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

PASTORAL   VISITING. 

Christianity  a  social  system.  Its  sociality  consecrated  to  important 
ends,  specially  in  the  line  of  ministerial  influence.  Pastoral  visiting 
theoretically  approved,  but  practically  neglected.  Analysis  of  the  sub- 
ject. I,  The  objects  to  be  attained.  Not  merely  social  enjoyment, 
but  Christian  influence,  i.  With  reference  to  the  people.  2.  With  refer- 
ence to  the  pastor  himself  IT.  Scriptural  proofs  and  illustrations  of  the 
duty.  I.  The  example  of  Christ.  2.  The  pra<:tice  of  the  apostles.  3.  The 
indirect  teaching  of  the  Scriptures,  III.  The  best  modes  of  accomplish- 
ing the  work  and  objects  of  pastoral  visitation,  i.  Preparation — intel- 
lectual, spiritual.  2.  Systematic  attention  to  the  duty,  (i.)  A  due 
allotment  of  time.  (2.)  A  proper  districting  of  the  field.  (3.)  Spe- 
cial appointments  with  families.  Distinction  between  calls  and  visits. 
(4.)  Special  attentions  to  the  sick,  afflicted,  and  needy.  Elements  of 
success  in  a  pastor's  visits  to  the  sick.  A  pastor's  rights.  Relief  for 
the  needy.  Difficulties  considered.  IV.  Motives  for  faithfulness  in 
pastoral  visiting,  i.  It  is  essential  to  full  proof  of  the  power  and  in- 
fluence of  the  ministry.  Wesley's  views  and  experience.  Success  of 
Methodism.  2.  It  increases  congregations.  3.  It  creates  influence 
and  sympathy.  4.  It  is  an  essential  complement  of  faithful  preaching. 
5.  It  promotes  revivals.  It  is  the  work  of  a  shepherd  as  distinguished 
from  that  of  a  hireling.  A  labor  of  love,  repaid  by  sympathy  and 
increased  usefulness page  459 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   PASTOR   IN   SOCIETY. 

Society  makes  claims  upon  him.  False  and  degraded  position  of 
English  clergymen  two  hundred  years  ago.  Contrasted  position  won 
by  talents  and  learning.  Daniel  Webster's  tribute  to  the  clergy  of 
America.  Different  uses  of  the  term  society.  The  pastor  should  not 
mingle  in  gay  society,  but  in  that  of  the  intelligent,  the  moral,  and  the 
religious.  Position  toward  which  he  should  aspire.  The  influence  he 
should  exert  by  his  presence,  his  words,  and  his  example.  Keeping 
God's  watch.  Words  from  George  Herbert.  Conversational  ability. 
ImportaYice  and  means  of  acquiring  it.  Clerical  manners.  Governing 
principles  better  than  artificial  rules.     Offensive  traits  of  manner  and 


20  CONTENTS. 

character.  Undue  sensitiveness  to  be  avoided.  Charity  toward  others. 
Readiness  to  receive  hints  and  corrections.  Pastors  sustain  confiden- 
tial relations  to  society.  The  endearments  of  those  relations  when 
properly  sustained.  The  pastor  in  scenes  of  joy.  Of  sorrow.  Vital 
points  at  which  he  touches  society.  Motives  for  watchfulness  and  dis- 
cretion  PAGE  481 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   PASTOR   IN   HIS   FAMILY. 

True  Christianity  not  ascetic.  Marriage  the  law  of  society.  Min- 
isterial exceptions.  Churches  generally  prefer  married  pastors,  but 
only  when  well  married.  Serious  character  of  mistakes  in  matrimony. 
Errors  to  be  avoided.  Qualifications  demanded  in  a  pastor's  wife. 
Traits  of  character  to  be  cultivated.  Motives  and  means  of  improve- 
ment. Joint  responsibility  for  mutual  and  parallel  improvement. 
What  is  to  be  desired  in  a  minister's  family.  The  wife's  part.  Diffi- 
culties of  maintaining  a  model  home  in  ministerial  life.  Yet  necessary 
to  do  so  for  personal  and  public  reasons.  The  family  a  field  of  respon- 
sibility and  privilege.  Well-regulated  family  life  favorable  to  ministe- 
rial success.     Home  courtesies  demanded  from  a  pastor.     .     page  493 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  PASTOR  IN  HIS  RELATION  TO  CHRISTIAN  ACTIVITIES  AND 
ENTERPRISES. 

The  Church  has  various  forms  of  action,  indirect  as  well  as  direct. 
The  pastor  should  therefore  be  ready  for  every  good  work,  but  discrimi- 
nate against  doubtful  measures  under  any  pretense.  He  should  co-op- 
erate with,  I.  Public  charities.  2.  The  cause  of  temperance,  (i.)  Ab- 
staining from  all  forms  of  intemperance.  (2.)  Preaching  on  the  subject. 
(3.)  Inculcating  it  in  the  Sunday-school.  {4.)  Encouraging  societies. 
(5.)  Distributing  tracts  and  pledges.  3.  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations. Character  and  relations  of  these  agencies.  Elements  of  suc- 
cess. 4.  Domestic  missions.  Church  planting  and  training.  5.  Foreign 
missions.  The  home  pastor  should  regard  the  world  as  his  field.  Should 
enlist  the  sympathy  and  liberality  of  his  Church  in  its  behalf.  Means 
to  this  end.  (i.)  He  should  acquire  missionary  knowledge.  (2.)  He 
should  impart  it  systematically  and  perseveringly.  (3.)  He  should,  by 
precept  and  example,  encourage  liberal  giving,  self-consecration,  lega- 
cies, and  prayer.  (4.)  He  should  act  in  unison  with  the  Church  at  large. 
He  may  thus  most  effectually  do  his  own  work  and  rise  to  the  dignity 
and  responsibility  of  his  position page  504 


CONTENTS,  21 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  PASTOR  IN  HIS  RELATIONS  TO  EDUCATION,  THE  PRESS, 
AND  THE  COUNTRY. 

Modem  education  an  outgrowth  of  Christianity.  The  American 
educational  system  spedally  indebted  to  Christian  influence.  A  pas- 
toral privilege  and  duty  to  co-operate  with  educational  efforts.  Pas- 
tors should  visit  schools.  Should  encourage  the  education  of  the 
young.  Should  commend  institutions  exerting  a  Christian  influence. 
Pastors  may  often  employ  the  press  as  an  agency  of  good.  Their 
connection  with  newspapers,  secular  and  religious.  Cautions  and 
suggestions.  Notoriety  not  to  be  sought  for.  No  redundance  of  good 
reading  in  the  world.  The  preparation  of  books  for  Sunday-school 
libraries  in  strict  harmony  with  the  design  of  preaching  and  pastoral 
labor.  Better  qualified  than  others  to  know  what  line  of  books  are 
most  needed.  Tracts  and  Tract  volumes.  Literary  labors  tributary 
to  preparation  for  the  pulpit.  Double  use  of  good  matter.  Mental 
power  increased  by  activity.  Political  rights  and  duties  of  ministers 
in  the  United  States.  Proprieties  and  responsibilities  of  their  posi- 
tion  PAGE  515 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   pastor's   RELATION  TO   CHURCH   BUILDING  AND   CHURCH 
EXTENSION. 

Church  edifices  a  necessity  to  the  advancement  and  permanence  of 
Christianity.  The  advantages  of  modern  pastors  in  having  churches 
already  built  for  their  use.  These  advantages  increase  their  obligation 
to  work  for  posterity.  Church  building  in  America  popular  and  easy, 
but  needs  leadership.  Pastoral  responsibility.  Not  to  bear  the  ma- 
terial burdens  of  Church  enterprises.  But  i.  For  good  counsel.  2. 
For  promoting  unity  of  action.  3.  For  securing  the  best  practicable 
style  of  architecture.  4.  Avoiding  and  paying  debts.  5.  Selecting 
and  acquiring  sites.  Breadth  and  importance  of  the  church  building 
enterprise.  Its  monumental  significance.  Characteristic  difference 
between  church  building  in  America  and  Europe.  Sacred  and  im- 
portant uses  of  a  church.  A  place  for  sacred  instruction.  Sanctuary 
for  the  administration  of  Christian  ordinances.  Place  for  funeral  so- 
lemnities. The  birthplace  of  souls.  Relations  of  an  earthly  Church 
to  the  temple  not  made  with  hands.  Church  extension.  Motives  that 
should  govern  in  church  building.  The  true  design  of  a  church  may 
be  perverted. page  524 


22  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   pastor's   ecclesiastical   RELATIONS. 

Various  forms  of  Church  polity  not  necessarily  unfriendly  to  the 
essential  unity  of  Christianity.  The  true  remedy  of  antagonisms  be- 
tween different  branches  of  the  general  Church.  Heart  unity,  not  out- 
ward conformity,  the  desideratum.  Pastors  may  promote  it.  They 
should  form  their  Church  relations  intelligently  and  permanently. 
They  should  be  true  to  the  system  they  adopt.  Itinerancy,  i.  In 
harmony  with  Scripture.  2.  Adapted  to  the  wants  of  humanity.  Life- 
long settlements  obsolete.  Instability  of  the  pastoral  relation  under 
that  system.  The  demand  for  variety  superior  to  the  theory  of  settle- 
ments. 3.  Hardships  of  the  itinerancy  overbalanced  by  its  advantages 
and  pleasures.  Obligations  of  itinerant  ministers.  To  their  system 
and  associates.  Fraternal  obligations.  Preachers'  Meetings  and  Min- 
isterial Associations.  Connectional  Relations  of  Presiding  Elders  and 
Bishops  as  chief  pastors.  Relations  to  neighboring  pastors.  Claims 
of  Christian  charity.  Ecclesiastical  exclusiveness  contemptible.  A 
pastor's  relations  to  young  men  called  to  the  ministry.  His  position 
favorable  to  the  giving  of  counsel page  532 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

pastoral  difficulties,  trials,  and  encouragements. 

Difficulties  are  incident  to  all  human  circumstances.  The  pastorate 
not  exempt.  A  pastor  may  find  difficulties  in  himself.  He  is  sure  to 
encounter  them  without.  Oppositions  of  various  kinds.  The  Scriptu- 
ral idea  of  the  ministry  is  that  of  labor — work.  Trials  are  essential 
human  discipline.  Peculiar  trials  of  the  Pastorate.  They  should  nei- 
ther be  magnified  nor  feared.  They  should  be  met  with  courage  and 
overcome.  Sources  of  encouragement,  i.  The  nature  of  the  work. 
Distinguished  from  all  others  by  its  immediate  relations  to  the  ultimate 
end  of  human  existence.  2.  Its  present  results.  A  pastor's  part- 
nership in  a  grand  system  of  efforts  and  results.  Only  one  of 
many  workers.  Results  in  society.  In  legislation.  Religious  results. 
Founding  and  establishing  Churches,  Sunday-schools,  and  schemes  of 
practical  benevolence.  The  conversion  of  souls.  The  establishment 
of  Christian  character.  The  prosperity  of  the  Church.  The  triumph- 
ant death  of  believers.  Superiority  of  these  results  to  all  others  of 
human  attainment,  and  to  the  trials  and  hardships  on  which  they  are 
conditioned.  Pastors  not  subjected  to  greater  trials  and  hardships 
than  other  men.     Peculiarities  of  a  pastor's  joy  and  privilege.     3.  The 


CONTENTS.  23 

future  rewards  of  faithful  ministers.  The  crown  of  glory.  Eternal 
brightness.  The  Lord's  welcome.  Companionship  of  glorified  fellow- 
laborers.  The  fruits  of  personal  labor.  The  partnership  of  ever- 
multiplying  fruitfulness.     The  unspeakable  glory.        .       .      page  549 


APPENDIX. 

PAGE. 

A.  Extracts  of  "The  Constitutions  of  the  Holy  Apostles,"         .  561 

B.  Bishop  Ames  on  Courtesy, 562 

C.  Bishop  Morris's  Hints  to  Young  Ministers,     ....  563 

D.  Ladies'  and  Pastor's  Christian  Union,          ....  564 

E.  Praying  Bands, 564 


THE 


Christian  Pastorate. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  RELIGIOUS  OFFICES. 

WHOEVER  would  understand  the  true  charac- 
ter of  the  Christian  ministry  should  study  its 
ideal  in  the  New  Testament  of  our  Lord  and  Savior 
Jesus  Christ.  From  the  teachings  of  that  volume  it 
may  be  seen  that  there  are  important  distinctions 
between  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  and  a  priesthood 
of  any  kind,  whether  Patriarchal,  Pagan,  or  Jewish. 
That  those  distinctions  may  be  the  better  compre- 
hended, it  is  proper  to  consider  briefly  the  rise  both 
of  true  and  false  religions  in  the  world. 

History  proves  man  to  have  been,  from  the  first,  a 
religious  being.  Every  nation  of  the  world  has  had 
ideas  of  God  and  worship.  At  the  period  of  the  cre- 
ation man  had  direct  communion  with  his  Creator. 
As  a  consequence  of  transgression  his  freedom  of 
intercourse  with  God  was  barred,  and  he  was  taught 
to  approach  his  Maker  through  the  agency  of  sym- 
bolic rites. 

3  25' 


26  ADAMIC  SACRIFICES, 

While  the  Scriptures  do  not  definitely  state  that 
Primeval  origin    Adam   offered  sacrifices,  they  lead  us  to 

of  sacrifices.  '^^i^^^  ^j^^^    j^^   j|  j  . 

1.  From  the  use  made  of  the  skins  of  beasts  when 
as  yet  no  permission  had  been  given  for  the  use  of 
animal  food. 

2.  From  the  fact  that  his  sons,  Cain  and  Abel, 
offered  sacrifices,  as  though  in  sequence  of  parental 
precept  or  example,  the  one  obeying  God,  the  other 
inventing  a  false  way. 

3.  From  the  fact  that  sacrifice  was  a  universal 
custom  of  the  patriarchs  of  ancient  nations. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  account  for 
Divine  ap-  the  Origin  and  prevalence  of  sacrifice  as 
pointment.  ^  leading  element  of  worship  throughout 
the  world,  except  by  supposing  that  it  was  appointed 
to  Adam,  in  immediate  sequence  of  his  transgres- 
sion, as  a  symbolical  foreshadowing  of  that  atone- 
ment through  which  sin  was  to  be  forgiven. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  race,  when  language 
was  but  imperfectly  developed,  symbolic  actions  had  a 
significance  not  easily  appreciated  at  present.  Indeed, 
they  seem  to  have  been  a  necessity  to  the  expression 
of  sentiments  appropriate  to  the  circumstances  of 
sinful  beings,  and  for  the  inculcation  of  truth  adapted 
to  their  moral  recovery.  How  could  the  sense  of 
guilt  be  more  emphatically  expressed  than  by  the 
offering  of  some  valued  but  innocent  animal,  whose 
death  indicated  what  was  due  from  the  offerer,  and 
became  at  least  the  figure  of  a  substitute  for  the  sat- 
isfaction required  by  offended  justice.'*  No  language 
comprehensible  at  that  stage  of  human  history  could 


MORAL  LESSON.  2/ 

SO  fully  set  forth  the  deserts  of  sin  and  the  idea  of 
pardon  through  vicarious  substitution  as  did  the  rites 
which  accompanied  the  immolation  of  sacrificial  vic- 
tims— the  implied  or  uttered  confession,  the  sprinkled 
blood,  the  consuming  fire — the  ascending  smoke  im- 
pressing the  senses  and  overwhelming  the  mind  with 
mysterious  awe.  Imagine  the  impression  made  when 
the  first  sacrifice  was  offered,  when  our  first  parents, 
conscious  of  having  sinned,  were  dismayed  by  the 
divine  rebuke,  driven  from  Eden,  and  threatened 
with  death.  Death,  as  yet,  was  unknown  to  their 
experience,  save  in  the  moral  change  that  had  come 
upon  themselves.  They  were  now  to  have  it  illus- 
trated before  their  eyes.  Stern  authority  directed 
the  smiting  of  the  lamb  which,  with  endearing  inno- 
cence, had  sported  around  them,  and  behold  its 
streaming  blood,  witness  its  unavailing  cries  and  its 
struggling  agonies !  "  When,  further,  they  had  to  go 
through  the  remaining  process  of  the  sacrifice,  their 
hands  reluctant,  their  hearts  broken,  and  their  souls 
crushed  with  the  sad  consciousness  that  these  horrid 
things  were  the  fruit  of  their  sin,  and  yet  contained 
the  hope  of  their  deliverance,  who  can  imagine  the 
intensity  of  their  feelings  .'*"  * 

Yet  herein  was  the  moral  lesson  they  were  to  learn 
themselves  and  to  teach  to  their  children,  Divine  appro- 
through  whom  it  was  to  descend  through  ^^*'°"- 
succeeding  generations.  There  is  nothing  in  the  na- 
ture of  animal  sacrifices  to  justify  the  idea  that  they 
would  have  been  invented  and  generally  practiced 
among    men   apart    from    original     divine    authority. 

*J.  Pye  Smith  on  the  Sacrifice  and  Priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  9. 


28  PATRIARCHAL  SACRIFICES. 

Yet  it  is  certain  that  the  approbation  of  God  was 
solemnly  given  to  the  sacrifices  of  Abel,  Noah,  Job, 
and  Abraham,  as  we  can  not  suppose  it  would 
have  been  had  such  acts  sprung  from  the  devices 
of  their  own  hearts.  Indeed,  the  divine  acceptance 
may  justly  be  considered  as  proof  of  the  divine 
appointment,  since  in  matters  of  religion  man  has 
not  been  left  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  wild  and 
changing  fancy,  but  has  been  held  strictly  subject  to 
the  divine  prerogative.  The  truth  stated  by  Isaiah 
and  repeated  by  our  Savior  may  be  accepted  as  a 
rule  of  equal  and  binding  force  under  all  dispensa- 
tions :  "  In  vain  do  ye  worship  me,  teaching  for  doc- 
trines the  commandments  of  men."*  If,  therefore, 
we  accept  the  theory  that  God  appointed  sacrifice  to 
Adam  as  an  acceptable  mode  of  worship,  it  can  read- 
ily be  understood  that  from  him  it  descended  through 
the  patriarchs  to  Noah,  and  that  after  the  flood  the 
descendants  of  Noah  practiced,  with  more  or  less 
corruption,  this  custom  of  their  antediluvian  fore- 
fathers in  the  different  continents  which  they  pop- 
ulated. Thus  the  idea  of  expiatory  sacrific-e  would 
have  been  handed  down  to  all  the  nations  that  sprang 
from  them,  and  we  have  an  adequate  explanation  of 
the  sacrificial  customs  found  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  be  supposed  that  sacrifice, 
instead  of  having  been  divinely  appointed,  was  in- 
vented by  men,  the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  the 
universality  of  the  practice  and  the  general  uniformity 
of  its  fundamental  ideas  still  remains.     This  difficulty 

*  Isaiah  xxix,  13 ;  Matthew  xv,  9 ;  Mark  vii,  7. 


DESIGN  AND  POSSIBILITY.  29 

can  only  be  met  by  supposing  that  there  existed  in 
the  constitution  of  humanity  some  moral  necessity 
which  prompted  or  some  instinct  which  guided  men 
to  acts  of  worship,  of  which  sacrifice  was  a  frequent, 
if  not  a  uniform  outgrowth.  This  supposition  is,  in 
fact,  necessary  to  account  for  the  general  continuance 
of  the  custom,  even  though  divinely  instituted,  and  is 
nearly  tantamount  to  the  simpler  and  more  compre- 
hensive view  that  God  appointed  to  men  a  duty  based 
upon  the  moral  necessities  of  their  nature  and  the 
age  of  the  world  in  which  they  lived.  Certain  it  is 
that  the  ancients  of  all  tribes  and  nations  not  only 
practiced  the  offering  of  sacrifices,  but  universally  re- 
garded them  as  significant  and  efficacious  in  reference 
to  man's  highest  and  eternal  interests.  No  ideas  ex- 
pressed in  all  the  writings  of  antiquity  are  more  defi- 
nite than  those  of  propitiation  and  pardon  secured 
through  the  offering  of  sacrificial  victims.  Hence 
we  may  conclude  that  tradition,  united  with  the  pre- 
vailing consciousness  of  guilt  and  apprehension  of 
punishment,  diffused  and  fixed  in  the  minds  of  men 
the  fundamental  idea  of  sacrifice  as  a  propitiatory 
offering,  notwithstanding  the  corruption  with  which 
it  became  obscured  by  the  practices  of  those  who 
perverted  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  into  super- 
stitious reverence  for  gods  of  their  own  imagining. 
The  Patriarchal  dispensation  is  too  often  over- 
looked, as  though  it  were  of  minor  importance,  and 
only  desiscned   to   be  introductory   to   the 

J  <=>  J  Importance  of 

Jewish,   whereas   it   rested    on   a   broader    the  Patriarchal 
basis  than  that  which   succeeded  it,  and,     '^p^"=^''°°- 
had  it  been  fully  and  faithfully  improved,  would  have 


30  FAITH  THE  ESSENTIAL   ELEMENT 

placed  all  people  in  a  position  as  favorable  as  that 
afterward  accorded  to  the  chosen  nation.  The  uni- 
versality of  its  sacrificial  rites  was  designed  to  make 
all  men  familiar  with  the  spirituality  of  God  and  the 
promise  of  a  Redeemer.. 

Imagine  a  pure,  patriarchal  worship  every- where 
diffused  with  the  growing  populations  of  the  earth, 
every  family  and  tribe  honoring  God  according  to 
his  original  appointment,  every  patriarch  an  Abra- 
ham, every  king  a  Melchisedec,  and  every  nation 
anticipating  the  advent  of  a  coming  Deliverer.  How 
effectually,  if  not  speedily,  might  the  world  have  been 
prepared  for  the  restoration  of  the  race  to  the  for- 
feited favor  of  God !  We  are  informed  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews — xi,  4 — that  the  distinguishing  excel- 
lence of  Abel's  sacrifice  was  faith.  Indeed,  faith  in 
"the  promises"  "seen  afar  off"  was  an  essential  ele- 
ment of  true  patriarchal  worship.  One  of  the  best 
Scriptural  explanations  of  faith  is  in  connection  with 
Enoch,  who  "had  this  testimony  that  he  pleased  God. 
But  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  him ;  for 
he  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and 
that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
him."     Heb.  xi,  6. 

Sacrifice  was  to  the  patriarchs  the  appointed  mode 
of  coming  to  God,  and  its  right  performance  im- 
plied in  the  worshiper,  i.  An  acknowledgment  of 
the  divine  direction;  2.  His  recognition  of  God's 
promise  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  through  the  shed- 
ding of  blood ;  and,  3.  Of  the  duty  of  presenting 
himself  a  living  sacrifice — that  is,  of  accompanying 
his  outward  offering  with  a  sacrifice  of  the  heart  to 


THE   CORRUPTION  OF  SACRIFICE.  3 1 

God.  It  is  obvious  that  such  a  worship  was  what 
the  world  needed,  and  all  that  it  needed  at  that  stage 
of  its  history. 

But  unhappily  "the  wickedness  of  man  was  great 
in  the  earth,"  and  "  every  imagination  of  origin  of  idoi- 
the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  ^*'^^- 
continually "  That  idolatrous  corruption  was  the 
source  and  center  of  that  wickedness  which  pro- 
voked the  flood,  and  subsequently  brought  down  the 
divine  judgments  upon  Sodom  and  the  cities  of 
the  plain,  hardly  admits  of  doubt.  Yet  the  severest 
judgments  proved  insufficient  to  correct  the  down- 
ward tendencies  of  the  race.  A  form  of  worship 
was,  indeed,  continued  in  the  offering  of  sacrifices,  but 
God  was  insulted  by  their  being  offered  to  beings  and 
objects  entitled  neither  to  worship  nor  honor.  Men 
seemed  intent  upon  the  monstrous  idea  of  creating 
gods  after  their  own  groveling  fancies.  Not  satisfied 
with  the  Creator's  revelation  of  himself  as  a  spiritual 
being,  they  "changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible 
God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and 
to  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things." 
Rom.  i,  23,  Thus  innumerable  systems  of  heathen 
worship  were  invented,  and  gods  and  images  without 
number  were  contrived  as  objects  of  adoration,  before 
which  sacrifices  were  offered  and  divine  homage  paid. 

Out  of  the  custom  of  sacrifice,  whether  pure  or 
corrupt,  sprang  the  idea  and  necessity  of  pagan  priest- 
priests  and  a  priesthood.  At  first  the  ''°°'^- 
father  of  a  family,  the  chief  of  a  tribe,  or  the  king 
of  a  nation,  officiated  in  a  priestly  capacity.  But 
with  the   growth   of  nations   it  was   natural   that  a 


32  APOSTOLIC  PORTRAITURE. 

class  of  men  should  be  set  apart  as  priests  or  sacri- 
ficers.  Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  process  of 
idolatrous  corruption  was  rapidly  promoted  by  the 
agency  of  appointed  or  self-constituted  priests,  who, 
for  the  sake  of  gain,  or  lust,  or  the  vanity  of  distinc- 
tion, were  ever  contriving  new  schemes  of  error  and 
deception,  by  which  "they  changed  the  truth  of  God 
into  a  lie,  and  worshiped  and  served  the  creature 
more  than  the  Creator."     Rom.  i,  25. 

With  what  graphic  fidelity  does  the  apostle  por- 
tray the  consequences  of  this  wicked  perversion ! 
I.  Intellectually.  "Professing  themselves  to  be  wise, 
they  became  fools."  2.  Socially.  "For  this  cause 
God  gave  them  up  unto  vile  affections,  receiving  in 
themselves  that  recompense  of  their  error  which  was 
meet."  3.  Morally.  "And  even  as  they  did  not  like 
to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them 
over  to  a  reprobate  mind  to  do  those  things  which 
are  not  convenient,  being  filled  with  all  unrighteous- 
ness, fornication,  wickedness,  covetousness,  malicious- 
ness, full  of  envy,  murder,  debate,  deceit,  malignity," 
and  such  like  evil  passions  and  practices.  While, 
therefore,  the  ingenuity  of  bad  men  was  employed 
in  making  themselves  and  others  worse,  Satan  tri- 
umphed in  stimulating  and  multiplying  those  evil 
devices  by  which  the  hearts  of  men  were  darkened 
and  their  minds  made  insensible  to  the  claims  of  the 
living  God.  At  that  early  day  did  Satan  establish 
his  kingdom  upon  earth,  and  make  himself,  largely 
through  idolatrous  agencies,  "the  god  of  this  world." 

By  such  combined  influences  of  evil,  numberless 
systems  of  idolatrous  worship  became  diffused  among 


ENORMITIES  OF  HEATHENISM.  ^ 

the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  yet  in  all  there  contin- 
ued some  idea  of  a  promised  deliverer.  Diffusion  and 
This  idea  was  often  vague,  and  even  cor-  consequences. 
rupt,  yet  it  lingered  down  to  the  time  when  the 
wise  men  of  the  East  were  led  forth  by  the  star 
of  Bethlehem  to  welcome  the  infant  Savior. 

Nevertheless,  the  tendency  of  false  religion,  even 
though  incorporating  in  itself  some  elements  of  truth, 
was  to  deteriorate  in  its  character  and  influence. 
Thus  men  descended  from  the  worship  of  fire  and 
the  heavenly  bodies  to  the  adoration  of  loathsome 
beasts  and  reptiles,  from  the  sacrifice  of  animals  to 
the  murderous  immolation  of  human  beings,  which 
was  practiced  with  indescribable  cruelty  in  every 
principal  quartet  of  the  heathen  world.* 

Without  dwelling  upon  the  enormities  of  heathen- 
ism and  the  extent  of  its  apostasy  from  the  patri- 
archal worship,  it  is  sufficient  now  to  observe  that 
its  growing  prevalence  in  the  world  a  few  centuries 
after  the  flood  created  the  necessity  of  a  second  dis- 
pensation or  divine  appointment  of  religious  wor- 
ship. This  commenced  with  the  call  of  Abraham, 
and  culminated  in  the  law  and  ordinances  of  Moses. 
The  Mosaic  dispensation,  instead  of  being  offered 
to  mankind  promiscuously,  was  committed  to  a  par- 
ticular nation  —  primarily,  indeed,  to  an  individual 
from  whom  descended  a  nation  —  specially  called  to 
exemplify  the  divine  precepts  and  to  introduce  the 
Messiah's  kingdom. 

Under  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  down  to  the  time 
of  Moses,  no  peculiar  forms  of  worship  were  instituted 
*See  Comfort's  "Moral  Portrait  of  Man." 


34  MOSAIC  DISPENSATION. 

differing  from  the  patriarchal  mode  of  sacrifice.  But 
the  miraculous  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage 
gave  occasion  for  an  impressive  revelation  of  the 
great  moral  law,  and  also  for  the  prescription  of  a 
minute  ritual  of  typical  worship,  designed  to  fore- 
shadow more  definitely  the  great  sacrifice  provided 
in  the  counsels  of  infinite  mercy  to  be  revealed  in 
the  fullness  of  time. 

The  Mosaic  ritual  required  a  specially  appointed 
The  Jewish  pricsthood.  Culminating  in  the  person  and 
priesthood.  office  of  a  high-pricst,  who  was  eminently 
typical  of  the  character  and  functions  of  the  Messiah 
as  an  atoning  Mediator.  In  this  light  the  whole 
Jewish  ritual  assumes  a  Messianic  significance,  while 
numerous  events  in  the  history  of  the  nation  become 
typical  of  more  important  events  connected  with  the 
Christian  dispensation. 

Through  the  agency  of  Moses,  himself  a  type  of 
Christ,  the  original  rite  of  sacrifice  was  expanded 
into  a  system,  every  part  of  which  portrayed  symbol- 
ically the  coming  and  the  atonement  of  "the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  For  the 
enactment  of  the  peculiar  and  complicated  ceremo- 
nies of  the  second  dispensation,  a  whole  tribe — that 
of  Levi — was  set  apart  to  the  priesthood,  while  the 
office  of  the  high-priesthood  was  confined  to  a  par- 
ticular family — that  of  Aaron.  This  ordinance,  re- 
quiring a  special  consecration  of  the  priesthood,  and 
prescribing  their  qualifications  and  mode  of  life,  was 
full  of  significance.*  It  betokened,  i.  The  exclusive 
proprietorship  which  God  saw  fit  to  exercise  over  the 

*Vide  Exodus  xxviii. 


DESIGN  OF  THE  JEWISH  PRIESTHOOD.  35 

priestly  office:  2.  The  holiness  of  character  which 
each  representative  of  the  office  ought  to  maintain; 
and,  3.  The  right  of  the  priest  to  draw  nigh  to  God 
in  propitiatory  acts  of  worship.  This  right,  which 
under  the  patriarchal  system  had  been  common,  at 
least  to  heads  of  families  and  of  communities,  was 
under  the  second  dispensation  withdrawn  from  all 
individuals  not  of  the  priestly  office,  even  though 
patriarchs  or  kings,  while  sacrifice  was  limited  to  a 
single  appointed  place  where  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
was  kept,  first  in  the  tabernacle,  and  afterward  in  the 
temple. 

Although  the  Jewish  priests  were  chiefly  employed 
in  ritualistic  services,  yet  not  exclusively.  They  were 
also  designed  to  be  moral  and  religious  teachers  to 
the  extent  of  illustrating,  by  their  lives  and  by  appro- 
priate expositions  of  the  law,  the  will  of  God  con- 
cerning the  people. 

To  what  extent  the  higher  ideas  symbolized  by  the 
consecration  and  office  of  the  Jewish  priesthood  were 
comprehended  and  appreciated  by  either  the  priests 
or  the  people  can  not  with  certainty  be  affirmed. 
That  they  were  designed  to  be  understood  and  might 
have  been  by  all  true  Israelites  is  obvious ;  that  they 
actually  were  comprehended  by  many  in  each  suc- 
cessive generation  is  the  inference  of  charity,  and  yet 
that  many  of  the  priests,  as  well  as  of  the  people, 
were  unfaithful  to  their  high  calling  became  a  matter 
of  oft-repeated  record.  But,  criminal  as  was  this  un- 
faithfulness, it  was  not  allowed  to  bring  the  counsels 
of  God  to  confusion. 

To    supplement    the    priesthood,   and    to    improve 


36  PROPHETIC  OFFICE  SUPPLEMENTARY. 

upon  its  moral  character,  prophets  were  raised  up  to 
occupy  an   intermediate  position  between 

The   prophets.  ^ ''  ^ 

the  material  and  ceremonial  dispensation 
of  Moses  and  the  purely  spiritual  dispensation  of 
Christ.  They,  in  a  far  stronger  manner  than  the 
priests  of  their  nation,  testified  of  the  coming  Mes- 
siah, and  illustrated  an  important  office  which  he  was 
to  bear — that  also  of  a  prophet.  While,  therefore, 
the  priests  were  designed  to  symbolize  the  priestly 
office  of  the  Savior  and  the  prophets  his  prophetic 
functions,  the  prophets  especially  gave  witness  of  his 
kingly  office,  styling  him  the  King  of  Zion  and  the 
Prince  of  Peace. 

Thus  it  was  that,  by  a  series  of  sacred  institutions 
and  offices,  the  way  of  the  Lord  was  prepared,  and 
the  Savior  of  men  was  introduced  as  the  promised 
Shiloh  to  whom  "the  gathering  of  the  nations" 
should  be. 

As  all   shadows  fade  away  in  the  diffiision   of  a 

perfect  and  all-surrounding  light,  and  as 
saic  dispensa-    all  typcs  disappear  before  their  appointed 

antitypes,  so  in  the  actual  coming  of  the 
Messiah  the  Jewish  dispensation  was  brought  to  an 
end.  In  the  offering  of  the  great  and  only  availing 
sacrifice  which  it  was  the  office  of  all  true  antece- 
dent sacrifices  to  prefigure,  the. whole  institution  of 
sacrifices  was  brought  to  a  close,  and  with  it  that 
of  a  sacrificing  priesthood.  Henceforth,  as  there  was 
to  be  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin,  emblems  were  no 
longer  required  to  foreshadow  such  a  sacrifice,  nor 
any  order  of  men  to  maintain  a  prefigurative  ceremo- 
nial.    On  the  contrary,  the  promise  of  an  all-sufficient 


MINISTERIAL   CHARACTER   OF  CHRIST.  37 

sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world  which  had  been 
set  forth  during  ages  of  types  and  prophecy  having 
now  become  fact,  the  great  work  of  all  ministers 
of  the  true  religion  would  necessarily  be  to  make 
known  the  character  and  offices  of  the  Redeemer 
actually  manifested  and  "able  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most all  that  come  unto  God  by  him."  This  change 
from  priestly  to  ministerial  service  corresponded  to 
that  glorious  provision  of  the  Christian  dispensation 
which  confers  upon  every  true  believer  a  spiritual 
priesthood — that  is,  the  right,  previously  limited  to 
patriarchs  and  priests,  of  offering  full  and  perfect 
worship  to  God  whenever  pleading  the  merit  of  the 
atoning  blood. 

In  order  to  a  just  conception  of  the  religious 
offices  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  it  is  necessary 
to  conceive  clearly  and  correctly  of  The  Ministe- 
rial Character  of  Christ.  A  summary  state- 
ment of  that  important  subject  seems,  therefore,  to 
be  required  in  this  connection. 

The  ministry  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  upon  earth 
was  not  limited  to  a  single  phase  of  character.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  in  whom  "all  fullness  dwelt", 
illustrated  the  highest  perfection  of  the  several  char- 
acters involved  in  his  Messiahship,  especially  those 
of  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King.  Nor  did  these  charac- 
ters in  any  degree  conflict  with  each  other. 

•'  ^  _  Harmony   of 

On  the  contrary,  they  blended  together  in    the  Messianic 

beautiful  harmony,  and  jointly  co-operated 

for  the  full  accomplishment  of  our  Savior's  glorious 

mission. 

The  prophetic  office  of  the  Messiah  was  first  in 


38  MESSIANIC  OFFICES  ETERNAL. 

order,  as  an  appropriate  introduction  to  that  of  the 
great  High-Priest  of  oUr  profession,  while  his  kingly 
functions  were  only  assumed  in  full  after  his  resurrec- 
tion and  ascension.  As  a  prophet  Christ  connected 
his  mission  with  that  of  Moses,  Elijah,  Isaiah,  and 
all  the  true  seers  of  Israel.  As  a  priest  he  fulfilled 
all  the  types  of  former  dispensations,  and  by  the 
offering  of  himself  made  the  one  only  availing  sac- 
rifice for  the  sins  of  the  world.  As  the  Prince  of 
Peace  he  founded  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  of  the 
increase  of  his  dominion  there  is  to  be  no  end. 

None  of  these  phases  of  Messianic  character  were 
limited  to  the  Savior's  earthly  sojourn.  Plis  prophetic 
office  still  remains  to  give  authority  to  revealed  truth, 
to  send  forth  and  accompany  its  living  teachers,  and 
to  sanction  and  supplement  their  work  by  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  His  priestly  office  culminated  not 
in  the  offering  of  Calvary — great  and  glorious  as  that 
work  was,  it  was  part  of  his  humiliation — but  in  his 
exalted  character  as  Mediator  and  Intercessor  "on  the 
right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the  majesty  in  the  heav- 
ens." As  a  king  his  earthly  crown  was  composed  of 
thorns.  In  his  exaltation  he  not  only  reigns  King 
of  saints,  but  sways  the  scepter  of  dominion  ovejr 
the  principalities  and  powers  of  the  heavenly  world. 

As  related  to  the  spread  of  his  kingdom  upon 
earth,  his  own  teaching,  office,  and  that  of  his  min- 
isters rises  superior  to  the  power  of  the  sword  or 
the  onset  of  armed  hosts.  His  priestly  functions  are 
reserved  to  himself  As  from  the  period  of  his  suf- 
fering upon  the  cross  there  remained  no  more  sacri- 
fice for  sin,  no  legitimate  priesthood  could  any  longer 


AN  IMPORTANT  STUDY.  39 

exist  Upon  earth.  Hence  his  disciples  were  not  called 
to  be  priestsj  but  ministers  of  the  New  Testament, 
servants  of  the  heavenly  King,  heralds  of  the  salva- 
tion secured  through  his  everlasting  priesthood  and 
eternal  sacrifice,  and  pastors  of  the  flock  of  whom 
it  is  his  "Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  them  the 
kingdom." 

Ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  should  study 
well  these  several  phases  of  his  character  as  a  means 
of  discriminating  clearly  between  those  human  func- 
tions of  the  Messiah  in  which  it  may  be  their  duty 
to  follow  in  his  steps,  and  those  divine  offices  in 
which  all  attempts  at  imitation  are  grossly  sacri- 
legious. 

Among  the  earliest  distinct  prophecies  of  a  coming 
Messiah  given  to  the  children  of  Israel  Christ  a 
was  that  recorded  by  Moses — Deuteron-  ^''^p^'-'^- 
omy  xviii,  15  :  "The  Lord  thy  God  will  raise  up  unto 
thee  a  prophet  from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  thy  breth- 
ren like  unto  me;  unto  him  shall  ye  hearken."  The 
triumphant  quotation  of  this  prophecy,  both  by  Peter 
at  the  Pentecost,  and  by  Stephen  before  the  high- 
priest  and  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  completed  the 
identification  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  the  Prophet 
foretold  by  Moses. 

Prophecy,  as  illustrated  in  the  Scriptures,  involves 
two  principal  and  leading  functions — the  office  of  in- 
struction and  the  foretelling  of  future  events.  These 
functions  were  more  or  less  blended  together  in  the 
character  of  the  Jewish  prophets,  and  also  developed 
in  greater  proportions  at  different  periods  and  by  dif- 
ferent individuals.     Moses,  the  great  leader  of  Israel, 


40  CHRIST  THE  IMMANUEL. 

has  been  denominated  the  prophet  of  the  law,  since 
his  most  prominent  work  was  the  promulgation  of 
God's  will  as  to  human  duty.  Nevertheless,  Moses 
prophesied  of  Christ,  distinctly  predicting  his  advent 
and  office,  while  the  ceremonial  law,  in  all  its  partic- 
ulars, was  designed  to  prefigure  the  Mediator  of  the 
new  covenant  and  his  work. 

Each  of  the  greater  and  minor  prophets  of  the 
Jews  had  some  striking  characteristic  more  or  less 
prefigurative  of  the  prophetical  character  of  Christ. 
Thus,  as  Moses  declared  the  will  of  God  uttered  on 
Sinai,  so  Christ  brought  to  the  world  God's  message 
of  love  in  the  everlasting  Gospel,  which  is  "the  law 
of  the  Spirit  of  life."  If  Samuel,  Elijah,  and  Elisha 
were  the  prophets  of  God's  vengeance  against  idola- 
try and  sin,  so  Christ  came  to  denounce  the  divine 
wrath  against  every  form  of  iniquity,  even  though 
concealed  in  the  thoughts  and  desires  of  the  heart. 
If  Isaiah  was  the  evangelical  prophet,  Christ  was 
himself  the  promised  Immanuel.  If  Jonah  was  the 
prophet  of  repentance  and  Jeremiah  the  prophet  of 
tears,  Christ  was  greater  than  Jonah  in  preaching 
repentance  to  the  Jews,  and  greater  than  Jeremiah 
in  weeping  over  the  coming  doom  of  Jerusalem.  If, 
amid  the  rigors  of  foreign  captivity,  Ezekiel  was  a 
prophet  of  consolation  and  Zechariah  a  prophet  of 
the  restoration  of  Israel,  so  Christ  predicted  not 
only  tribulation  to  his  followers,  but  a  glorious  deliv- 
erance in  the  end,  and  the  reward  of  blessedness  in 
heaven.  If  Malachi  was  a  prophet  of  the  second 
temple,  so  Christ  was  the  prophet  of  the  new  cove- 
nant, and  the  promiser  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and 


THE   GREAT  TEACHER,  4 1 

of  the  temple  of  God  "made  without  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens." 

When  upon  earth  Christ  proved  himself  to  be 
indeed  "a  teacher  sent  from  God,"  and  chdst  as  a 
as  the  ages  roll  along  the  world  more  '^^^^^^'■• 
distinctly  recognizes  him  as  by  eminence  the  Great 
Teacher.  In  this  capacity  his  work  was  both  im- 
portant and  manifold.  He  authoritatively  explained 
and  illustrated  the  connection  between  the  old  and 
the  new  dispensations,  and,  as  in  the  sermon  on  the 
mount,  showed  how  the  law  merged  into  the  gospel, 
and  how  the  gospel  improved  upon  the  law.  In 
conformity  with  the  gospel  scheme,  he  introduced 
the  new  law  and  gave  the  new  commandment  of 
love.  Also,  in  accordance  with  antecedent  prophecy, 
he  himself  proclaimed  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy 
designed  for  all  people,  announcing  liberty  to  the 
captives  of  sin,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison-doors 
to  the  bondmen  of  Satan.  As  a  teacher  Christ  spake 
as  never  man  spake,  and  his  words  were  confirmed  to 
those  present  by  the  miracles  which  he  wrought,  and 
to  all  subsequent  ages  by  his  predictions  of  future 
events. 

While  his  prophetic  utterances  differed  from  most 
of  the  prophecies  of  former  ages  in  relating  to  events 
near  at  hand,  they  were  also  characterized  by  the 
orderly  and  specific  manner  in  which  he  detailed  cir- 
cumstances which  could  only  have  been  foreseen  by 
the  eye  of  omniscience.  Thus,  with  historic  minute- 
ness, he  foretold  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
dispersion  of  the  Jewish  nation.  With  equal  signifi- 
cance, under  the  figure  of  a  temple,  he  foretold  his 


42  OF  THE   TRIBE   OF  JUDAH. 

own  crucifixion,  and  his  resurrection  on  the  third 
day.  He  made  known  to  his  disciples  the  distresses 
and  persecutions  which  awaited  them,  but  at  the 
same  time  cheered  them  with  the  assurance  of  the 
certain  establishment  and  ultimate  triumph  of  his 
kingdom  upon  earth,  and  the  everlasting  reward  of 
its  subjects  in  the  life  to  come.  Christ  also  foretold 
the  fact  of  his  own  second  coming  at  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  portrayed  as  no  other  prophet  ever  could 
do  the  fact  and  the  scenes  of  the  future  judgment. 
Christ's  prophetic  office  was  continued  after  his  as- 
cension in  the  gift  of  direct  inspiration  to  the  apos- 
tles, and  in  the  bestowment  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a 
comforter  and  guide  for  his  true  followers  to  the  end 
of  time. 

But  when,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  God  sent  his 
ThePHesthood  Sou  to  rcdccm  the  world,  he  not  only 
ofchnst.  gg^^g  j^jj^  ^Q  l^g  ^  prophet  and  a  teacher — • 

he  also  created  him  a  priest.  The  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  gives  us  full  and  specific  instruction  in  ref- 
erence to  the  priesthood  of  Christ.  He  was  not  a 
Jewish  priest  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  command- 
ment, and  hence  not  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  but  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah.  He  was  not  of  the  order  of  Aaron, 
raised  up  for  a  ceremonial  service,  but  of  the  order 
of  Melchisedec,  who  combined  the  priestly  and  the 
kingly  office  in  one  person,  and  was  thus  superior  to 
Abraham.  "After  the  similitude  of  Melchisedec,"  he 
received  special  appointment  from  the  most  high  God, 
and  as,  in  a  modified  sense,  Melchisedec  was  a  priest 
forever,  being  the  last  of  his  class,  so  Christ,  in  an 
absolute    sense,   was    made   a   "high-priest   forever," 


GLORIOUS   TITLES.  43 

"after  the  power  of  an  endless  life."  The  patriarchal 
and  Jewish  priesthoods,  those  of  Melchisedec  and 
Aaron,  were  designed  to  prefigure  the  priesthood  of 
Christ,  and  ultimately  to  merge  in  that  office  as  not 
only  superior  to  both,  but  as  the  only  office  of  intrin- 
sic value  in  the  great  plan  of  redemption.  They 
were  symbolical,  their  highest  virtue  being  "to  serve 
unto  the  example  and  shadow  of  heavenly  things." 
"  But  now  he  [Christ]  hath  obtained  a  more  excellent 
ministry,  by  how  much  also  he  is  the  mediator  of  a 
better  covenant,  which  was  established  upon  better 
promises."     Hebrews  viii,  6. 

The  Scriptures  apply  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
various  terms  indicating  the  dignity  and  the  essen- 
tial importance  of  his  priestly  office.  They  speak  of 
him  as  a  "priest,"  and  affirm  the  unchangeabihty,  as 
well  as  the  eternity,  of  his  priesthood.  They  also 
call  him  the  "High-Priest,"  "the  Apostle  and  High- 
Priest  of  our  profession,"  "a  great  High-Priest,"  "an 
High-Priest  higher  than  the  heavens,"  "Minister  of 
the  sanctuary  and  of  the  true  tabernacle  which  the 
Lord  pitched  and  not  man,"  "the  Surety  of  a  better 
covenant,"  "  He  that  sanctifieth,"  "  our  Forerunner," 
"Mediator,"  "Intercessor,"  "Savior,"  and  "the  Au- 
thor and  Finisher  of  our  faith."  Such  a  priest- 
hood, having  been  planned  in  the  economy  of  grace 
and  regarded  as  efficacious  "from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,"  may  be  pronounced  the  first,  only, 
and  everlasting  agency  of  man's  redemption.  But 
not  only  was  the  office  created  and  assumed ;  its 
contemplated  function  was  fulfilled.  In  the  capacity 
of  such   a    High-Priest  Christ   made   a   sacrifice   of 


44  C HEISTS  HUMILIATION. 

himself  to  put  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  Hebrews 
ix,  26. 

Christ's  sacrifice  may  be  said  to  embrace  the  aggre- 
christ's  sacri-  gate  of  his  humiliation,  insults,  and  suffer- 
^^^-  ings  while  upon  earth.     Although  "being 

in  the  form  of  God,  and  thinking  it  not  robbery  to 
be  equal  with  God,"  he  humbled  himself  in  the  in- 
carnation "in  the  likeness  of  men,"  that  he  might 
become  "obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
cross" — that  is,  a  death  of  sacrifice.  In  pursuance 
of  this  great  and  benevolent  design  "he  made  him- 
self of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of 
a  servant."  He  was  "born  in  a  manger,"  he  was 
"dressed  in  swaddling-clothes."  "He  was  tempted 
of  the  devil."  Though  he  "went  about  doing  good" 
and  fulfilling  all  righteousness,  "he  endured  great 
contradiction  of  sinners."  Christ  "pleased  not  him- 
self," but  bore  meekly  the  reproaches  of  the  ungodly. 
Having  come  "to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many," 
he  had  a  fearful  "baptism  to  be  baptized  with,"  and 
"he  was  straitened  until  it  was  accomplished."  "It 
pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  and  to  put  him  to 
grief  "-when  "his  soul  was  made  an  offering  for  sin." 
In  Gethsemane,  "being  in  an  agony,  he  prayed  more 
earnestly,  and  his  sweat  was,  as  it  were,  great  drops 
of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground."  Thus  he 
poured  out  his  soul  unto  death,  and,  though  inno- 
cent, "was  numbered  with  the  transgressors,  that  he 
might  bear  the  sin  of  many." 

But  it  is  specially  to  be  observed  that  Christ's 
sacrifice  culminated  in  his  ignominious  death.  He 
"died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  Scriptures."     As 


HIS  SHED  BLOOD.  45 

"our  Passover  he  was  sacrificed  for  us."  i  Cor.  v,  7. 
"  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly.  .  .  .  While  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us."  Romans  v,  6,  8. 
"Christ  loved  us,  and  hath  given  himself  for  us,  an 
offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet-smelling 
savor."  "By  the  suffering  of  death  he  by  the  grace 
of  God  tasted  death  for  every  man,  that  through 
death  he  might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of 
death,  that  is  the  devil."     Heb.  ii,  14. 

He  it  was  "that  came  from  Edom,  with  dyed  gar- 
ments from  Bozrah."  "He  was  red  in  his  apparel, 
and  he  trod  the  wine-press  alone."  "Surely  he  bore 
our  griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows.  He  was  wounded 
for  our  transgressions,  and  by  his  stripes  we  were 
healed."  (See  Isa.  Ixiii  and  liii.)  In  all  these  dis- 
tresses he  was  the  Messiah  of  prophecy  that  was  to 
be  "cut  off,  but  not  for  himself,"  but  rather  that  he 
might  "confirm  the  covenant  with  many,"  and  cause 
the  whole  routine  of  "  sacrifice  and  oblation  to  cease." 
Daniel  ix,  26,  "  He  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep." 
"The  cup  which  his  Father  gave  him  he  drank." 
"  He  laid  down  his  life  that  he  might  take  it  again." 
"No  man  took  it  from  him,  but  he  laid  it  down  of 
himself."  "He  purchased  the  Church  of  God  with 
his  own  blood."  "That  he  might  sanctify  the  people 
with  his  own  blood,  he  suffered  without  the  gate." 
Heb.  xiii,  12. 

As  "without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  could 
be  no  remission"  of  sins,  and  as  we  could  not  be 
redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  Christ  offered  in 
our  behalf  "his  own  precious  blood."  Hence  all 
the  redeemed  from  under  the  several  dispensations 


46  THE   CRUCIFIXION, 

will  ultimately  be  enabled  to  join  in  praise  and 
thanksgiving  "unto  Him  that  loved  us  and  washed 
us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,"  saying,  "Thou 
wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 
blood."     Rev.  v,  9. 

As  reality  usually  differs  from  ceremony,  so  it  is 
not  wonderful  that  the  sacrificial  offering  of  our 
great  High-Priest  was  far  removed  from  the  forms 
with  which  typical  sacrifices  had  been  invested. 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  the  multitude  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  soldiery  of  Rome,  participated  in  the  outward 
act  of  the  Savior's  crucifixion,  and  yet  his  life  was 
voluntarily  surrendered  with  a  prayer  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  those  murderers  whose  joint  act  represented 
the  wide  world.  By  this  coincidence  not  only  the 
reality,  but  the  extent  of  the  atonement,  was  sig- 
nificantly set  forth  in  accordance  with  the  apostolic 
statement  that  "  He  is  a  propitiation  for  our  sins, 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world."      I  John  ii,  2. 

Although  human  wisdom  could  never  have  devised 
such  a  plan,  yet  in  its  execution  we  may  see  its 
adaptation  to  the  great  object  of  man's  redemption 
in  many  particulars.  It  maintained  the  claims  of 
divine  justice  against  the  transgressors  of  a  holy 
law,  and  thus  upheld  the  honor  and  majesty  of  the 
divine  government.  In  so  doing  it  opened  a  way 
for  the  exercise  of  mercy  toward  sinners,  enabling 
God  at  once  to  be  "just  and  yet  the  justifier  of  him 
that  believeth  in  Jesus."  Having  thus  become  a 
broad  and  solid  foundation  for  the  overtures  of  the 
gospel     to   a   ruined    race,   the   sacrificial    death    of 


THE  EXALTATION.  47 

Christ  was  at  once  recognized  by  the  apostles  and 
early  Christians  as  the  great  center  of  that  system 
of  truth  designed  to  make  men  free  from  the  bond- 
age of  error  and  the  power  of  Satan. 

Although  in  his  one  offering  on  the  cross  Christ 
forever  perfected  his  atonement  for  sin,  yet  conform- 
ably to  the  analogy  of  the  Jewish  high-priest,  who 
entered  once  every  year  into  the  holy  place  with 
the  blood  of  sacrificial  victims,  Christ  entered  "into 
heaven  itself  now  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God 
for  us."  Thus  it  was  in  the  character  of  a  sacrificing 
and  accepted  High-Priest  that  Christ  was  exalted  as 
a  Mediator  at  God's  right  hand.  In  that  capacity- 
he  is  the  "Mediator  of  the  New  Testament,"  thus 
fulfilling  the  office  which  he  affirmed  of  himself, 
saying,  "I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life; 
no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me."  John 
xiv,  1 6. 

But  our  risen  and  ascended  Savior  not  only  acts  as 
a  mediator  in  our  behalf,  but  also  as  an  intercessor. 
The  apostle  Paul  says,  Romans  viii,  14,  "Who  also 
maketh  intercession  for  us ;"  and,  Hebrews  vii,  25, 
"Wherefore  he  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost 
that  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  them."  Thus  from  the  word 
of  God  it  appears  that  the  priestly  functions  of  our 
exalted  Savior  are  those  by  which  our  salvation  is 
provided  and  eternally  secured. 

This  scriptural  view  of  the  actual  and  perpetual 
priesthood  of  Christ  is  in  itself  a  complete  refutation 
of  all  theories  of  a  continued  human  priesthood  under 
the  Christian  dispensation,  save  in  the  spiritual  privi- 


48  THE  END   OF  SACRIFICE. 

lege  conferred  upon  all  true  believers  of  being  kings 
and  priests  unto  God.     Rev.  i,  6 ;  v,  lo. 

Christ  appointed  no  officiating  priests  for  the  rea- 
son that  following  him  there  was  no  occasion  for 
priestly  services.  He  chose,  taught,  and  trained  dis- 
ciples, and  when,  after  his  resurrection  and  before 
his  ascension,  all  power  had  been  given  unto  him  in 
heaven  and  in  earth,  he  commissioned  them  to  go 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.  He  commanded  them  to  "go  teach  all 
nations,"  to  "feed  his  lambs,"  and  to  "feed  his 
sheep,"  but  in  no  word  nor  by  the  remotest  allusion 
did  he  intimate  the  propriety  or  the  possibility  of 
their  assuming  sacerdotal  functions  or  tiiics. 

To  complete  a  just  view  of  the  offices  and  author- 
ity of  Christ  as  the  Messiah,  we  must  briefly  regard 
him  as  a  prince  and  a  king,  as  well  as  a  prophet  and 
a  priest. 

The  prophetic  annunciations  of  the  kingly  office 
Christ's  kingly  of  thc  Mcssiah  had  been  so  numerous  and 
office.  specific  that  the  Jews  not  only  accepted  it 

as  a  nation,  but  contented  themselves,  in  view  of  it, 
to  lose  sight  of  the  corresponding  offices  the  Messiah 
was  to  sustain.  Indeed,  they  allowed  their  selfish 
and  carnal  hopes  so  to  distort  their  expectations  of 
the  regal  character  of  the  Messiahship  as  to  render 
them  unable  to  recognize  its  true  characteristics  when 
manifested.  Although  during  the  humiliation  of  the 
Son  of  God  a  veil  was  thrown  over  his  kingly  office, 
yet  that  office,  which  was  to  be  fully  assumed  in  due 
time,  was  clearly  asserted  from  the  moment  of  his 
incarnation. 


THE  KING   OF  ZION.  49 

When  the  angel  Gabriel  announced  to  Mary  the 
birth  of  Jesus,  it  was  distinctly  declared,  "And  he 
shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever,  and  of 
his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  Luke  i,  33. 
"When  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea,  be- 
hold there  came  wise  men  from  the  East  to  Jerusa- 
lem, saying,  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the 
Jews?"     Matthew  ii,  2. 

John  records  a  significant  popular  tribute  to  the 
royal  character  of  Christ,  notwithstanding  the  preju- 
dices of  the  leaders  among  the  Jews.  "Much  people 
that  were  come  to  the  feast,  when  they  heard  that 
Jesus  was  coming  to  Jerusalem,  took  branches  of 
palm-trees  and  went  forth  to  meet  him,  and  cried, 
Hosanna,  blessed  is  the  King  of  Israel  that  cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  And  Jesus,  when  he  had 
found  a  young  ass,  sat  thereon ;  as  it  is  written,  Fear 
not,  daughter  of  Zion ;  behold  thy  king  cometh  sit- 
ting on  an  ass's  colt."     John  xii,  12-16. 

The  disciples  themselves  were  slow  to  comprehend 
the  full  glory  of  the  Savior's  character,  but  as  his 
earthly  career  drew  near  its  close  they  were  enabled 
more  clearly  to  discern  the  King  in  his  lowliness. 
On  one  occasion  "when  he  was  come  nigh,  even  now 
at  the  descent  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  whole 
multitude  of  the  disciples  began  to  rejoice  and  praise 
God  for  all  the  mighty  works  that  they  had  seen, 
saying.  Blessed  be  the  King  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord ;  peace  in  heaven  and  glory  in 
the  highest."     Luke  xix,  37. 

In  various  ways  Christ  himself  asserted  his  own 
kingly  character.     He  repeatedly  spoke  of  his  king- 

5 


50  A   PRINCE  AND  A   SAVIOR. 

dom.  In  predicting  the  final  judgment  he  said, 
"When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory, 
and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit 
upon  the  throne  of  his  glory."  Matthew  xxv,  31. 
"And  Jesus  stood  before  the  governor,  and  the  gov- 
ernor asked  him,  saying.  Art  thou  the  King  of  the 
Jews?  And  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Thou  sayest." 
Matthew  xxvii,  11.  "Pilate  therefore  said  unto  him. 
Art  thou  a  king  then?  Jesus  answered.  Thou  say- 
est that  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end  was  I  born,  for 
this  end  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear 
witness  unto  the  truth."  John  xviii,  37.  "And  Pilate 
wrote  a  title  and  put  it  on  the  cross.  And  the  writ- 
ing was,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews." 
John  xix,  22. 

From  and  after  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  the  disciples  had  a  clearer  con- 
ception than  before  of  all  the  glories  of  the  Savior's 
character,  and  did  not  scruple  to  proclaim  them,  not 
excepting  his  kingly  office.  Peter  declared  unto  the 
multitude  the  prophecy  of  David  that  God  "would 
raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne,"  saying  unto 
them,  "Ye  denied  the  Holy  One  and  the  Just,  and 
desired  a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto  you ;  and 
killed  the  Prince  of  Life  whom  God  hath  raised  from 
the  dead,  whereof  we  are  witnesses."  Acts  iii,  15. 
With  equal  clearness,  on  another  occasion,  the  same 
apostle  declared  of  Jesus,  "Him  hath  God  exalted 
with  his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Savior  to 
give  repentance  to  Israel  and  forgiveness  of  sins." 
Acts  V,  31. 

Paul  in  his    epistles  makes  repeated  and  striking 


THE  KING   OF  GLORY.  5 1 

allusions  to  the  exaltation  of  Christ  and  to  his  king- 
dom, declaring  his  superiority  not  only  to  men,  but 
to  angels.  "Of  the  angels  he  [God]  saith,  Who 
maketh  his  angels  spirits,  and  his  ministers  a  flame 
of  fire.  But  unto  the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  O 
God,  is  forever  and  ever:  a  scepter  of  righteousness 
is  the  scepter  of  thy  kingdom."  Heb.  i,  7,  8.  John 
in  the  Revelation  foresees  the  day  when  "the  king- 
doms of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever." 
Rev.  xi,  15.  He  also  declares  him  to  be  "Lord 
of  lords  and  King  of  kings."  xvii,  14.  "And  he 
hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written, 
King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords."     xix,  16. 

When  this  our  glorious  King  "ascended  up  on 
high,  he  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto 
men.  .  .  .  And  he  gave  some  apostles,  and 
some  prophets,  and  some  evangelists,  and  some  pas- 
tors and  teachers ;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body 
of  Christ:  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith, 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a 
perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the 
fullness  of  Christ."     Eph.  iv,  8,  11-13. 

But  among  all  these  great  gifts  no  mention  is 
made  of  a  priesthood  of  any  form  or  de-  no  succession 
gree.  Thus  we  see  that  all  the  Messianic  Ldtp^oSd 
offices  harmonize  in  the  grand  idea  of  a  or  possible. 
completed  and  sufficient  sacrifice  for  man's  redemp- 
tion, following  which  there  was  neither  necessity 
nor  propriety  for  the  continuance  of  a  priestly  office 
upon  earth.     Hence  it  may  be  safely  inferred  that, 


52  PRIESTHOOD  A    USURPATION. 

by  whomsoever  the  name  and  pretense  of  a  hie- 
rarchical or  sacrificing  priesthood  has  been  introduced 
into  the  Christian  Church,  it  has  been  done  without 
authority,  and  by  a  blasphemous  intrusion  upon  the 
office  and  prerogative  of  the  Savior  of  mankind.  Nor 
is  it  strange  that  such  a  pretense,  whenever  success- 
fully imposed  upon  the  credulity  of  professing  chris- 
tians, whether  in  ancient  or  modern  times,  has  been 
followed  by  the  corruption  of  Christianity  and  the 
many  evils  attendant  upon  that  unhappy  result. 


CHRIS rS  ORDINANCES.  53 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY    AS    INSTITUTED    BY 

CHRIST,   THE    HEAD    OF   THE   CHURCH   AND 

FOUNDER  OF  THE  NEW  DISPENSATION. 

THE  foregoing  sketch  brought  us  to  that  great 
event  of  the  world's  history  which  antecedent 
prophecy  had  so  long  foretold  —  the  manifestation 
of  the  Redeemer  of  mankind,  to  whom  all  types, 
whether  in  offices  or  in  ordinances,  had  pointed  from 
the  moment  of  the  fall.  From  that  period  every 
Christian  must  recognize  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  sole  and  authoritative  head  of  his  own  Church. 
That  Church  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  he  intro- 
duced and  established  among  men.  In  him  we  also 
discern  the  inherent  and  regal  right  of  prescribing 
whatever  ordinances  or  offices  were  necessary  to  the 
extension  and  perpetuation  of  thg  Church  in  the 
world. 

As  to  ordinances,  we  find  that  he  only  appointed 
baptism  to  be  the  initiatory  rite  of  the  Church,  and 
the  Lord's-Supper  as  a  sacred  commemoration  of  his 
own  death  after  the  ancient  manner  of  celebrating 
one  of  its  principal  types,  the  Passover.  These  sim- 
ple but  solemn  ordinances  were  designed  to  substitute 
forever  the  ceremonial  ritualism  of  the  Jews,  to  which 
there  no  longer  remained  any  significance  except  in 


54  THE   CALLING  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

retrospect.  But  for  their  celebration  no  priesthood  was 
required,  consequently  none  was  appointed.  Christ's 
disciples  came  not  from  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and  upon 
the  apostles  there  was  enjoined  only  a  spiritual  min- 
istry specially  adapted  to  the  propagation  of  the  truth 
and  the  edification  of  the  Church.  Herein  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Christian  system  appears.  A  ritualistic 
priesthood  necessarily  revolved  about  the  altar  of  the 
tabernacle  or  the  temple.  The  Christian  ministry 
was  free  to  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and,  indeed, 
was  commanded  to  go  "into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature." 

In  respect  to  the  proper  character  and  functions  of 
the  ministry  of  the  New  Testament,  nothing  can  be 
so  instructive  and  authoritative  as  our  Savior's  own 
example  and  precepts. 

Among  the  earliest  acts  of  his  public  ministry  was 
the  calling  of  his  disciples.  In  Matthew  iv,  18-21, 
we  have  this  interesting  record :  "And  Jesus,  walking 
by  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  saw  two  brethren,  Simon  called 
Peter,  and  Andrew  his  brother,  casting  a  net  into  the 
sea,  for  they  were  fishers.  And  he  saith  unto  them, 
Follow  me,  and  \  will  make  you  fishers  of  men.  And 
going  on  from  thence  he  saw  other  two  brethren, 
James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his  brother,  and 
he  called  them."  These  instances  of  individual  call- 
ing are  doubtless  examples  of  what  occurred  in  the 
case  of  the  other  disciples.  That  of  Matthew  is  re- 
corded Matthew  ix,  9. 

After  having  chosen  and  called  his  disciples,  the 
Savior  proceeded  to  give  them  instruction,  and  to 
clothe  them  with  power  for  their  work.     In  fact,  no 


THEIR  INSTRUCTION.  55 

inconsiderable  portion  of  Christ's  earthly  ministry- 
had  a  primary,  if  not  in  all  cases  a  direct  reference, 
to  the  instruction  of  the  twelve  disciples  preparatory 
to  their  being  commissioned  as  his  apostles.  He 
instructed  them  in  the  great  principles  of  revealed 
truth,  in  the  nature  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and 
the  means  of  promoting  it.  He  taught  them  by  daily 
intercourse  and  conversation,  by  expositions  of  the 
word  and  providence  of  God,  by  miracle  and  proph- 
ecy, and  by  his  own  constant  example  as  a  preacher 
and  "a  teacher  sent  from  God,"  and  he  expressly 
commanded  them,  "What  I  tell  you  in  darkness  that 
speak  ye  in  the  light,  and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear, 
\i.  e.,  privately,]  that  preach  ye  upon  the  housetops." 
Nor  was  his  instruction  to  the  twelve  merely  theoret- 
ical. After  a  period  of  preliminary  training  he  gave 
them  work  to  do  in  co-operation  with  himself  As 
the  demonstration  of  his  true  Messiahship  was  an 
important  part  of  his  personal  mission,  so  he  endowed 
them  to  some  extent  with  miraculous  powers,  to  be 
employed  for  the  welfare  of  men  and  the  conviction 
of  the  people. 

"And  when  he  had  called   together  ur^to  him  his 
twelve  disciples,  he  began  to  send  them    ^. 

^  *^  First  public 

forth  by  two  and  two,  and  gave  them  mission  of  the 
power  against  unclean  spirits  to  cast  them 
out,  and  to  heal  all  manner  of  sickness  and  all  man- 
ner of  disease.  These  twelve  Jesus  sent  forth,  and 
commanded  them,  saying,  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans  enter 
ye  not ;  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel,  and  as  ye  go  preach,  saying.  The  kingdom 


56  THEIR  MINISTRY. 

of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the 
lepers,  cast  out  devils ;  freely  ye  have  received,  freely 
give.  .  .  .  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  me, 
and  he  that  receiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent 
me.  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a 
prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward."  Mat.  x, 
1-8,  40,  41. 

Subsequently,  as  if  to  show  that  the  Christian  min- 
Mission  of  the  istry  was  not  to  be  limited  to  the  apostles, 
seventy.  ^^  Savior  appoiutcd  seventy  of  his  other 

disciples,  and  gave  them  instructions  for  a  similar 
mission.  "After  these  things  the  Lord  appointed 
other  seventy  also,  and  sent  them  two  and  two  before 
his  face  into  every  city  and  place  whither  he  himself 
would  come."  "And  the  seventy  returned  again  with 
joy,  saying.  Lord,  even  the  devils  are  subject  unto  us 
through  thy  name.  .  .  In  that  hour  Jesus  rejoiced 
in  spirit,  and  said,  I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  that  thou 
hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and 
hast  revealed  them  unto  babes :  even  so.  Father,  for 
so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."     Luke  x,  i,  17,  21. 

Aside  from  instructions  on  special  occasions,  the 
Savior's  frequent  precepts  in  reference  to  ministerial 
duty  were  luminous  and  emphatic.  "Say  not  ye 
The  moral  har-  there  are  yet  four  months,  and  then  com- 
vest-fieiA  g^j^  harvcst }     Behold  I  say  unto  you,  Lift 

up  your  eyes  and  look  on  the  fields,  for  they  are 
white  already  to  the  harvest.  And  he  that  reapeth 
receiveth  wages  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal; 
both  he  that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  rejoice 
together."  John  iv,  35,  36.  "Then  saith  he  unto 
his  disciples,  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the 


THEIR  AUTHORITY.  57 

laborers  are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  that  he  will  send  forth  laborers  into  his  har- 
vest."    Matthew  ix,  37,  38. 

"Moreover,  if  thy  brother  shall  trespass  against 
thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between  Mode  and  au- 
him  and  thee  alone;  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  churTh^kd- 
thou  hast  gained  thy  brother.  But  if  he  p^'"^- 
will  not  hear  thee,  then  take  with  thee  one  or  two 
more,  that  in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses 
every  word  may  be  established ;  and  if  he  shall  neg- 
lect to  hear  them,  tell  it  unto  the  Church ;  but  if  he 
neglect  to  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as 
a  heathen  man  and  a  publican ;  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound 
in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth 
shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."     Matthew  xviii,  15-18. 

When  examined  in  its  proper  connection  and  scope 
this  oft-perverted  passage  explains  itself  as  convey- 
ing neither  more  nor  less  than  a  judicious  pastoral 
authority  for  the  government  of  the  Church  upon 
earth,  which  is  the  appointed  agency  of  human  train- 
ing for  a  home  in  heaven. 

"Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you;  as  the  branch  can 
not  bear  fruit  of  itself  except  it  abide  in  Tests  of  char- 
the  vine,  no  more  can  ye  except  ye  abide  ^^^^'■• 
in  me.  I  am  the  vine;  ye  are  the  branches.  He 
that  abideth  in  me  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit ;  for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing. 
.  .  .  If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in 
you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done 
unto  you.  Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye 
Dear  much  fruit ;  so  shall  ye  be  my  disciples.     .     .     . 


58  THEIR  INSTRUCTIONS. 

Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants,  for  the  servant 
knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth ;  but  I  have  called 
you  friends,  for  all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my 
Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you.  Ye  have  not 
chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you,  and  ordained  you, 
that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your 
fruit  should  remain ;  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of 
the  Father  in  my  name,  he  may  give  it  you.  These 
things  I  command  you,  that  ye  love  one  another." 
John  XV,  4-17.  "A  new  commandment  I  give  unto 
you,  that  ye  love  one  another;  as  I  have  loved  you, 
that  ye  also  love  one  another.  By  this  shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  my.  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one 
to  another."     John  xiii,  34,  35. 

"If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  me 
before  it  hated  you.     If  ye  were  of  the 

Ministers  must  ^  '' 

be  prepared  for  world,  thc  world  would  lovc  his  owu ;  but 
persecuion.  bccause  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I 
have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the 
world  hateth  you.  Remember  the  word  that  I  said 
unto  you.  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord. 
If  they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute 
you.  .  .  .  But  this  cometh  to  pass,  that  the  word 
might  be  fulfilled  that  is  written  in  their  law;  They 
hated  me  without  a  cause.  But  when  the  Comforter 
is  come  whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father, 
he  shall  testify  of  me ;  and  ye  also  shall  bear  witness, 
because  ye  have  been  with  me  from  the  beginning." 
John  XV,  18-27. 

"I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but 
ye  can  not  bear  them  now.  Howbeit  when  he,  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all 


CHRIS rS  PRAYER.  59 

truth:     ...     he   will   show  you   things  to  come. 
He  shall  dorify  me :  for  he  shall  receive    ^,^ .  ,   . 

o  J  Christ's  in- 

of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you.     All    stmctionsgrad- 
things  that    the    Father    hath   are   mine: 
therefore  said  I,  that  he  shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall 
show  it  unto  you."     John  xvi,  12-15. 

"These  words  spake  Jesus,  and  hfted  up  his  eyes 
to  heaven,  and  said.  Father,  the  hour  is  prayer  for  his 
come ;  glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also  ™"'^*^''^- 
may  glorify  thee:  ...  I  have  manifested  thy 
name  unto  the  men  which  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the 
world;  thine  they  were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me; 
and  they  have  kept  thy  word.  Now  they  have  known 
that  all  things  whatsoever  thou  hast  given  me  are  of 
thee.  For  I  have  given  unto  them  the  words  which 
thou  gavest  me ;  and  they  have  received  them,  and 
have  known  surely  that  I  came  out  from  thee,  and 
they  have  believed  that  thou  didst  send  me.  I  pray 
for  them.  .  .  .  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth: 
thy  word  is  truth.  As  thou  hast  sent  me  into  the 
world,  even  so  have  I  also  sent  them  into  the  world. 
.  .  .  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them 
also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word ; 
that  they  all  may  be  one ;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us :  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."  John 
xvii,  I -2 1. 

The  institution  of  the  supper  of  our  Lord  has 
been  claimed  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church*  as  an 
appointment  of  the  apostles  to  a  priestly  office,  and 
to  the  task  of  offering  sacrifices.     In  what  absolute 

*See  page  92. 


60  DISCIPLES  TO  BE    WITNESSES. 

contrast  to  such  assumptions  is  the  simple  and  con- 
current narrative  of  the  evangehsts  and  the  apostle: 
"And  he  took  bread,  and  gave  thanks,  and  brake  it, 
and  gave  unto  them,  saying.  This  is  my  body  which 
is  given  for  you:  this  do  in  remembrance  of  me. 
Likewise  also  the  cup  after  supper,  saying.  This  cup 
is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood,  which  is  shed  for 
you."  Luke  xxii,  19,  20.  See  also  Matt,  xxvi,  26, 
27;  Mark  xiv,  22-24;  ^i^d  i  Cor.  xi,  23-25.  These 
passages  of  themselves  sufficiently  refute  any  such 
forced  and  absurd  interpretation,  which,  indeed,  is 
equally  at  variance  with  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture. 

Not  seeking  to  multiply  quotations,  we  pass  over 
the  period  of  our  Lord's  passion,  crucifixion,  and  res- 
urrection, and  come  to  his  interview  with  the  eleven 
disciples  as  they  sat  at  meat,  when  he  sought  to 
inspire  them  with  broader  views  of  his  mission  and 
of  their  own  duty  than  they  had  been  prepared  to 
receive  before. 

"And  he  said  unto  them.  These  are  the  words 
which  I  spake  unto  you,  while  I  was  yet  with  you, 
that  all  things  must  be  fulfilled,  which  were  written 
in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the 
psalms,  concerning  me.  Then  opened  he  their  under- 
standing, that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures, 
and  said  unto  them.  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it 
behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead 
the  third  day:  and  that  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name  among  all 
nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  wit- 
nesses of  these  things.  And  behold,  I  send  the 
promise  of  my  Father  upon  you :  but  tarry  ye  in  the 


719  BE  PASTORS.  6 1 

city  of  Jerusalem,  until   ye  be   endued  with  power 
from  on  high."     Luke  xxiv,  AA-A9- 

It  was  during  the  same  period  that  our  Lord  gave 
to  Simon  Peter,  as  a  representative  apostle,  The  great  com- 
his  reiterated  command,  "feed  my  lambs,"  ^oiverthrpas- 
"feed  my  sheep."  Soon  after  this,  in  a  torai  office. 
mountain  in  Galilee  where  Jesus  had  appointed  to 
meet  his  disciples,  he  "came  and  spake  unto  them, 
saying.  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth:  go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations,  baptiz- 
ing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you:  and  lo  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

Careful  attention  to  the  language  of  the  great 
commission  uttered  in  the  above  words  will  show 
that  it  not  only  provides  for  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  but  also  for  the  whole  work  of  the  ministry. 
According  to  its  tenor  and  spirit,  the  apostolic  dec- 
laration of  the  truth  is  to  be  followed  by  the  admin- 
istration of  the  divine  ordinances,  and  the  business 
of  the  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is,  by  means  of  all 
personal  and  official  influence,  private  entreaty,  and 
social  power,  both  to  teach  and  induce  mankind  to 
OBSERVE  the  commands  of  Christ.  For  these  efforts 
the  Savior's  co-operative  presence  is  promised  "  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Corresponding  to 
this  promise,  the  Lord  Jesus,  soon  after  his  ascen- 
sion, sent  forth  the  Holy  Ghost  as  an  inspirer  of  the 
apostles,  and  the  paraclete  and  witness  of  all  true 
ministers  and  believers." 

The  sacred  record  soon  after  illustrates  the  apostol- 


62  APPOINTMENT  OF  MA  TTHIAS. 

ical  conception  of  the  ministry  thus  instituted.     The 
few  years  covered  by  the  history  of  the 

Apostolical  •'  '' 

idea  of  the        Acts  of  the  Apostlcs  belonged  emphatic- 
ministry.  ^^^  ^^  ^^  initiative  or  missionary  period, 

in  which,  of  necessity,  the  teaching  office  of  the  min- 
istry would  be  called  into  the  most  prominent  activ- 
ity; nevertheless  we  find,  from  the  very  beginning, 
indications  of  the  due  exercise  of  the  pastoral  office. 
The  first  public  act  of  the  apostles  after  the 
ascension  of  their  divine  Master  was  to  secure  the 
appointment  and  ordination  of  Matthias,  who  had 
companied  with  them  all  the  time  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  went  in  and  out  among  them,  that  he  might 
be  a  witness  with  them  of  his  resurrection,  and  that 
he  might  take  "part  of  this  ministry  and  apostleship 
from  which  Judas  by  transgression  fell."  After  the 
preaching  of  the  day  of  Pentecost  it  is  recorded — 
Acts  ii,  41,  42,  46,  47:  "Then  they  that  gladly  re- 
ceived his  [Peter's]  word  were  baptized :  and  the  same 
day  there  were  added  unto  them  about  three  thousand 
souls.  And  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the  apos- 
tles' doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of 
bread,  and  in  prayers.  .  .  .  And  they,  continu- 
ing daily  with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and  breaking 
bread  from  house  to  house,  did  eat  their  meat  with 
gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  praising  God,  and 
having  favor  with  all  the  people."  In  this  summary 
description  we  have  a  striking  portraiture  of  a  primi- 
tive Church,  in  which  the  apostles  jointly  presided, 
administering  the  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the 
Lord's-Supper,  and  giving  diligent  personal  attention 
to  social  worship  and  all  other  legitimate  agencies 


MINISTERIAL  ACTIVITY,  63 

for  securing  the  divine  favor  and  co-operation.  The 
result  is  impressively  stated  in  the  conclusion  of  the 
chapter:  "And  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily 
such  as  should  be  [were]  saved." 

The  continued  account  of  the  Church  in  Jerusa- 
lem indicates  not  only  g^reat  diligence  in 

•'     ^  ^  Association 

preaching  the  word  on  the  part  of  the  with  the  peo- 
apostles,  but  their  intimate  association  ^^' 
with  the  members  of  the  Church  for  all  purposes  of 
Christian  activity — Acts  v,  42  :  "  Daily  in  the  temple, 
and  in  every  house,  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and 
preach  Jesus  Christ."  From  this  statement  it  is 
obvious  that  personal  visitation,  not  only  to  the 
houses  of  Christians,  but  also  of  the  Jews,  was  rec- 
ognized as  an  important  duty  of  the  apostolic  min- 
istry. "  By  such  means  the  number  of  the  disciples 
was  so  multiplied,  and  the  duties  and  difficulties  of 
the  public  ministration  so  increased,  that  the  apos- 
tles found  it  necessary  to  have  their  hands  strength- 
ened by  the  selection  and  ordination  of  Appointment 
the  seven  deacons.  The  division  of  labor  ^^  ^^^^p^^^- 
resulting  from  this  appointment  doubtless  provided 
for  the  more  efficient  administration  of  minor  duties 
at  the  same  time  that  the  apostles  were  enabled  to 
give  themselves  "continually  to  prayer  and  the  min- 
istry of  the  word."  It  is  recorded  as  an  immediate 
sequence  of  this  event  that  "the  word  of  God  in- 
creased and  the  number  of  disciples  multiplied  in 
Jerusalem  greatly."     Acts  vi,  7. 

The  subsequent  ordination  of  "elders  in  every 
Church" — Acts  xiv,  23 — was  an  additional  measure, 
of  great  importance,  by  which  the  apostles  provided 


64  PAUL'S   TEACHING. 

for  a  continuity  of  pastoral  oversight  which  their  own 
far-reaching  itinerancy  prohibited  them  from  person- 
ally exercising.  Nevertheless,  it  became  their  cus- 
tom frequently,  using  the  words  of  Paul,  to  "go  again 
and  visit  'our  brethren  in  every  city  where  we  have 
preached  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  see  how  they 
do."  Acts  XV,  36.  In  this  manner  the  apostles 
confirmed  the  Churches.  Acts  xv,  41.  "So  were 
the  Churches  established  in  the  faith,  and  increased 
in  number  daily."     xvi,  5. 

In  the  special  address  of  the  apostle   Paul  to  the 
„   „  ,     elders  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus  we  have 

Pauls    exposi- 
tion of  minis-    a  beautiful  and  aifecting  exhibit  of  apos- 

terial  duty.  ,.  ,  ,  _ 

tone  example  and  precept  m  reierence  to 
the  Christian  ministry,  inclusive  of  the  pastoral  office. 
"  Ye  know,  from  the  first  day  that  I  came  into'  Asia, 
after  what  manner  I  have  been  with  you  at  all  sea- 
sons, serving  the  Lord  with  all  humility  of  mind, 
and  with  many  tears:  .  .  .  and  how  I  kept 
back  nothing  that  was  profitable  unto  you,  but  have 
showed  you,  and  have  taught  you  publicly,  and  from 
house  to  house,  testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also 
to  the  Greeks,  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith 
toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  now,  behold,  I 
go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem,  not  knowing 
the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there:  save  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying  that 
bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me.  But  none  of  these 
things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto 
myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy, 
and  the  ministry,  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  to  testify  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.    .    . 


MINISTERIAL  SUCCESSION.  6$ 

Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the 
flock,  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you 
overseers,  to  feed  the  Church  of  God,  which  he  hath 
purchased  with  his  own  blood."     Acts  xx,  18-28. 

The  instructions  of  the  apostle  Peter  in  reference 
to  pastoral  duty  are  of  the  same  tenor,  peter's  exhor- 
"The  elders  which  are  among  you  I  *^^'°"- 
exhort,  who  am  also  an  elder,  and  a  witness  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  also  a  partaker  of  the  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed:  feed  the  flock  of  God  which 
is  among  you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof,  not  by 
constraint,  but  willingly;  not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of 
a  ready  mind ;  neither  as  being  lords  over  God's  her- 
itage, but  being  ensamples  to  the  flock.  And  when 
the  Chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  ye  shall  receive  a 
crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away."  i  Peter  v,  1-4. 
In  fact,  the  apostolic  epistles  generally  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  so  many  authoritative  agencies  of  pastoral 
instruction  to  the  then  existing  and  future  churches. 
Various  pertinent  illustrations  of  pastoral  solicitude 
and  practical  ministerial  duty  are  to  be  found  in  the 
apostolic  writings  of  this  class.  Witness  Rom.  i,  10- 
12;  XV,  24-29;  I  Cor.  ii,  1-4;  iii,  1-9;  iv,  i,  11-17; 
2  Cor.  iii,  6,  and  many  other  passages. 

There  is  also  another  important  phase  of  apostolical 
labor  too  often  overlooked  or  undervalued. 

As  our  Savior  in  the  institution  of  the  Christian 
ministry  had,  in  fact,  provided  for  its  con-    Measures  for 
tinuance,  "even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"    ;SZf?utu"re 
so  the  apostles,  following  his  example  and    ministers. 
illustrating  his  precepts,  took  measures  for  the  proper 
preparation  of  their  "  own  sons  in  the  faith  "  to  suc- 

6 


66  THE  DIVINE  CALL. 

ceed  them  in  their  ministerial  labors,  and  to  perpetu- 
ate the  ministerial  office  to  generations  following. 
Not  only  did  the  apostles  associate  with  themselves, 
in  their  preaching  and  pastoral  tours,  such  men  as 
Barnabas,  Silas,  John,  Mark,  Timothy,  Titus,  and  oth- 
ers, but  to  the  two  last  named,  as  representative  men, 
the  apostle  Paul  addressed  letters,  filled  with  special 
instructions  in  reference  to  ministerial  character  and 
duty — hence  called  Pastoral  Epistles.  These  epistles 
are  rich  in  precepts,  exhortations,  and  inspired  admo- 
nitions applicable  to  every  true  minister  of  Christ, 
whether  of  ancient  or  modern  times.  Observe  some 
of  the  points  which  they  set  forth  with  clearness,  unc- 
tion, and  authority. 

"  Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  command- 
A.  The  divine  rncut  of  God  our  Savior  and  Lord  Jesus 
*^^"-  Christ."     "  I  thank  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 

who  hath  enabled  me,  for  that  he  counted  me  faithful, 
putting  me  into  the  ministry."  "  This  charge  *I  com- 
mit to  thee,  son  Timothy,  according  to  the  prophecies 
which  went  before  on  thee."  i  Tim.  i,  i,  12,  18. 
"  Wherefore  I  put  thee  in  remembrance,  that  thou  stir 
up  the  gift  of  God,  which  is  in  thee  by  the  putting  on 
of  my  hands.  For  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of 
fear,  but  of  power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind." 
"  I^ld  fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  which  thou  hast 
heard  of  me,  in  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 
That  good  thing  which  was  committed  unto  thee  keep 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  dwelleth  in  us."  2  Tim.  i, 
6,  7,  13,  14.  "  Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee, 
which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy  with  the  laying  on 
of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery."     i  Tim.  iv,  14. 


MINISTERIAL   CHARACTER.  6/ 

"  Thou  therefore,  my  son,  be  strong  in  the  grace 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."     "  Endure  hard- 

■'       _  _  B.  Personal 

ness,  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ."  and  ministerial 
2  Tim.  ii,  1,4.  "  O  man  of  God,  flee  these 
things  (love  of  money,  etc.),  and  follow  after  right- 
eousness, godliness,  faith,  love,  patience,  meekness. 
Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life, 
whereunto  thou  art  also  called,  and  hast  professed  a 
good  profession  before  many  witnesses.  I  give  thee 
charge  in  the  sight  of  God,  .  .  .  and  before  Jesus 
Christ,  .  .  .  that  thou  keep  this  commandment 
without  spot,  unrebukable,  until  the  appearing  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  i  Tim.  vi,  11-14.  "I  charge 
thee  before  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  .  .  . 
Preach  the  word  ;  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season  ; 
reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and 
doctrine."  Watch  thou  in  all  things,  endure  afflic- 
tions, do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  make  full  proof 
of  thy  ministry."  2  Tim.  iv,  i,  2,  5.  "  These  things 
write  I  unto  thee,  .  .  .  that  thou  mayest  know  how 
thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in  the  house  of  God, 
which  is  the  church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth."  i  Tim.  iii,  14,  15.  "Be  thou 
an  example  of  the  believers,  in  word,  in  conversation, 
in  charity,  in  spirit,  in  faith,  in  purity."     iv,  12. 

"  Give  attendance  to  reading,  to  exhortation,  to 
doctrine."  "  Meditate  upon  these  things  ;  c.  Ministerial 
give  thyself  wholly  to  them  ;  that  thy  prof-  '•^'^^'^^^ 
iting  may  appear  to  all.  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and 
unto  the  doctrine  ;  continue  in  them  :  for  in  doing 
this  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself  and  them  that  hear 
thee."     I  Tim.  iv,  13,  16.     "But  refuse  profane  and 


68  STUDIES  AND  INFLUENCE, 

old  wives'  fables."  v.  7.  "  Neither  give  heed  to  fa- 
bles and  endless  genealogies,  which  minister  ques- 
tions, rather  than  godly  edifying  which  is  in  faith." 
I  Tim.  i,  4.  "Avoiding  profane  and  vain  babblings 
and  oppositions  of  science  falsely  so  called."  "  Avoid 
foolish  questions,  and  genealogies,  and  contentions,  and 
strivings  about  the  law ;  for  they  are  unprofitable  and 
vain."  Tit.  iii,  9.  "  Study  to  show  thyself  approved 
unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed, 
rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth."  2  Tim.  ii,  15. 
"  Observe  these  things  without  preferring  one  be- 

D.  Pastoral  forc  auothcr,  doing  nothing  by  partiality." 
ifuXisci'  I  Tim.  V,  21.  "But  speak  thou  the  things 
piine.  which  become  sound  doctrine :  that  the 
aged  men  be  sober,  grave,  temperate,  sound  in  faith, 
in  charity,  in  patience.  The  aged  women,  likewise, 
that  they  be  in  behavior  as  becometh  holiness.  .  .  . 
Young  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  sober-minded.  In 
all  things  showing  thyself  a  pattern  of  good  works. 
.  .  Exhort  servants  to  be  obedient  unto  their  own 
masters,  .  .  .  showing  all  good  fidelity ;  that  they 
may  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our  Savior  in  all 
things.  .  .  .  These  things  speak,  and  exhort,  and 
rebuke  with  all  authority.  Put  them  in  mind  to  be 
subject  to  principalities  and  powers,  to  obey  magis- 
trates, to  be  ready  to  every  good  work."  Tit.  ii,  i- 
15  ;  iii,  I.  "A  man  that  is  a  heretic,  after  the  first 
and  second  admonition,  reject."     iii,  10. 

"  The  things  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me  among 

E.  Instruction    uiauy  wituesscs,  the  same  commit  thou  to 
and  appoint-      faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  oth- 

ment  of  future  ' 

ministers.  gj-s  also."     2  Tim.  ii,  2.     "  The  servant  of 


APOSTOLIC  INSTRUCTION.  69 

the  Lord  must  not  strive ;  but  be  gentle  unto  all  men, 
apt  to  teach,  patient,  in  meekness  instructing  them 
that  oppose  themselves."  ii,  24,  25.  "  For  this 
cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  shouldst  set  in 
order  the  things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain  elders 
in  every  city,  as  I  had  appointed  thee."  Tit.  i,  5. 
"  Lay  hands  suddenl}^  on  no  man,  neither  be  partaker 
of  other  men's  sins."  i  Tim.  v,  22.  "  A  bishop  then 
must=  be  blameless,  ...  of  good  behavior,  given 
to  hospitality,  apt  to  teach,  .  .  .  not  a  novice." 
"  Moreover  he  must  have  a  good  report  of  them  which 
are  without ;  lest  he  fall  into  reproach  and  the  snare 
of  the  devil.  Likewise  must  the  deacons  be  grave, 
holding  the  mystery  of  the  faith  in  a  pure  conscience. 
And  let  these  also  first  be  proved  ;  then  let  them  use 
the  office  of  a  deacon,  being  found  blameless."  "  They 
that  have  used  the  office  of  a  deacon  well  purchase  to 
themselves  a  good  degree,  and  great  boldness  in  the 
faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus."      i  Tim.  iii,  1-13. 

Most  commentators  have  failed  to  perceive  the  im- 
portance of  the  apostolic  example  and  injunctions  just 
recorded.  Mosheim,  the  Church  historian,  is  an  ex- 
ception. The  following  is  an  extract  from  his  "  His- 
torical Commentaries  on  the  State  of  Christianity 
during  the  first  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  years 
from  the  Christian  era."     Cent.  I,  sec.  40  (note  2). 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that,  almost  from  the  first  rise 
of  Christianity,  it  was  the  practice  of  the  youth,  in  Mosheim's 
whom  such  a  strength  of  genius  and  capacity  man-  comment, 
ifested  itself  as  to  afford  a  hope  of  their  becoming  profitable 
servants  in  the  cause  of  religion,  to  be  set  apart  for  the  sacred 
ministry,  and  for  the  presbyters  and  bishops  to  supply  them 
with  the  requisite  preparatory  instruction,  and  form  them,  by 


70  MOSHEIM'S  THEORY. 

their  precepts  and  advice,  for  that  solemn  office.  On  this  sub- 
ject St.  Paul,  in  the  latter  of  his  Epistles  to  Timothy  ii,  2, 
expresses  himself  in  the  following  terms  :  'And  the  things  that 
thou  hast  tieard  of  me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit 
thou  to  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also.' 
The  apostle  here,  we  see,  directs  Timothy,  in  the  first  place,  to 
select  from  among  the  members  of  the  Church  a  certain  number 
of  men  who  might  appear  to  him  to  possess  the  talents  requisite 
for  conveying  instruction  to  others,  ^d  who  were  persons  of 
tried  and  approved  faith.  For  it  can  not  be  doubted  that  by  the 
'faithful  men'  here  alluded  to,  we  ought  to  understand,  not 
merely  believers,  or  those  holding  the  faith,  but  persons  of  ap- 
proved and  established  faith,  to  whom  things  of  the  highest 
moment  might  be  intrusted  without  danger  or  apprehension. 
Secondly,  to  the  persons  thus  selected,  he  was  to  communicate 
and  expound  that  discipline  in  which  he  himself  had  been 
instructed  by  St.  Paul  before  many  witnesses.  Now  it  is  evi- 
dent that  St.  Paul  could  not  by  this  mean  that  they  were  to  be 
taught  the  mere  elements  or  rudiments  of  the  Christian  religion; 
for  with  these  every  one  professing  Christianity  was  of  course 
made  acquainted:  doubtless,  therefore,  those  whom  the  apostle, 
in  this  place,  directs  Timothy  to  instruct,  must  have  known  and 
been  thoroughly  versed  in  them  long  before.  The  discipline,  then, 
which  Timothy  had  received  from  St.  Paul,  and  which  he  was 
thus  to  become  the  instrument  of  communicating  to  others,  was, 
without  question,  that  more  full  and  perfect  knowledge  of  divine 
truth  as  revealed  in  the  gospel  of  Christ,  which  it  was  fitting 
that  every  one  who  was  advanced  to  the  office  of  a  master  or 
teacher  among  the  brethren  should  possess,  together  with  a  due 
degree  of  instruction  as  to  the  most  skillful  and  ready  method 
of  imparting  to  the  multitude  a  proper  rule  of  faith  and  correct 
principles  of  moral  action. 

"  But  what  is  this,  I  would  ask,  but  to  direct  Timothy  to  insti- 
tute a  school  or  seminary  for  the  education  of  future  presbyters 
and  teachers  for  the  Church,  and  to  cause  a  certain  number  of 
persons  of  talents  and  virtue  to  be  trained  up  therein,  under  a 
course  of  discipline  similar  to  that  which  he  himself  had  received 
at  the  hands  of  St.  Paul?  It  may,  moreover,  be  inferred  from 
these  words  that  the  apostle  had  personally  discharged  the  same 
office  which  he  thus  imposes  on  Timothy,  and  applied  himself  to 
the  properly  educating  of  future  teachers  and  ministers  for  the 


APOSTOLIC  SEMINARIES.  J I 

Church,  for  it  appears  by  them  that  he  had  not  been  the  tutor 
of  Timothy  only,  but  that  his  instructions  to  this,  his  favorite 
disciple,  had  been  imparted  *  before  many  witnesses,'  ^lo,  having, 
in  this  place,  unquestionably  the  force  of  the  preposition  evcjiztov. 
To  determine,  indeed,  whom  we  ought  to  understand  by  the  per- 
sons thus  termed  'witnesses'  has  occasioned  no  little  stir  among 
the  commentators.  According  to  some  we  should  connect  them 
with  the  following  word — 7Ta.pd-&ov — and  consider  St.  Paul  as  say- 
ing 'transmit  by  many  witnesses.'  Others  would  have  us  under- 
stand by  these  witnesses  the  presbyters,  who  ordained  Timothy 
to  the  sacred  ministry  by  the  laying  on  of  hands — i  Tim.  iv,  14 — 
and  conceive  -that  immediately  previous  to  such  ordination  St. 
Paul  had,  in  the  presence  and  hearing  of  these  presbyters,  reca- 
pitulated and  again  inculcated  on  the  mind  of  his  adopted  son  in 
the  faith  the  chief  or  leading  articles  of  the  Christian  religion, 
while  others,  again,  imagine  that  the  persons  here  alluded  to 
were  witnesses  of  the  life,  action,  and  miracles  of  our  Lord. 
But  of  these  and  some  other  conjectures  on  the  subject  which 
it  is  needless  to  enumerate  there  is  not  one  but  what  is  incum- 
bered with  considerable  difficulties.  A  much  more  natural  way 
of  resolving  the  point,  as  it  appears  to  me,  is  by  supposing  that 
St.  Paul  had  under  him,  in  a  sort  of  seminary  or  school  which 
he  had  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  properly  educating  presby- 
ters and  teachers,  several  other  disciples  and  pupils  besides 
Timothy,  and  that  the  witnesses  here  spoken  of,  before  whom 
Timothy  had  been  instructed,  were  his  fellow-students,  persons 
destined,  like  him,  for  the  ministry,  and  partakers  together  with 
him  of  the  benefits  that  were  to  be  derived  from  the  apostle's 
tuition." 

"  It  is  highly  credible — I  may  indeed  say  it  is  more  than  cred- 
ible— that  not  St.  Paul  alone,  but  also  all  the  other  apostles  of 
our  Lord,  apphed  themselves  to  the  special  instruction  of  select 
persons,  so  as  to  render  them  fit  to  be  intrusted  with  the  care 
and  government  of  the  Churches,  and  consequently  that  the  first 
Christian  teachers  were  brought  up  and  formed  in  schools  or 
seminaries  immediately  under  their  eye.  Besides  other  refer- 
ences which  might  be  given,  it  appears  from  Irenaeus,  advers. 
Hcsreses,  lib.  ii,  cap.  xxii,  that  St.  John  employed  himself  at 
Ephesus,  where  he  spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  qualifying 
youth  for  the  sacred  ministry.  And  the  same  author,  as  quoted 
by  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccles.,  lib.  v,  cap.  xx,  represents  Polycarp, 


72  ORIGIN  OF  DIOCESAN  SCHOOLS. 

the  celebrated  bishop  of  Smyrna,  as  having  labored  in  the  same 
way.  That  the  example  of  these  illustrious  characters  was  in 
this  respect  followed  by  the  bishops  generally  will  scarcely  admit 
of  doubt.  To  this  origin,  in  my  opinion,  are  to  be  referred  those 
seminaries,  termed  'episcopal  schools,'  which  we  find  attached 
to  the  principal  Churches,  and  in  which  youth  designed  for  the 
ministry  went  through  a  course  of  preparatory  instruction  and 
discipline,  under  the  bishop  himself,  or  some  presbyter  of  his 
appointment." 


It  is  not  necessary  to  adopt  the  learned  author's 
school  theory  in  application  to  St.  Paul  and  Timothy, 
except  so  far  as  it  harmonizes  with  the  largest  activity 
in  their  regular  apostolic  labors,  during  which,  how- 
ever, companionship  and  intimate  association  would 
afford  the  most  favorable  opportunities,  on  the  one 
hand,  for  instruction  ;  and,  on  the  other,  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  most  valuable  knowledge  in  reference  to 
ministerial  duty.  With  this  qualification  it  is  safe  to 
pronounce  the  remarks  quoted  a  clear  and  judicious 
exposition  of  a  very  important  branch  of  apostolical 
effort  and  solicitude. 

The  preceding  summary  of  the  teachings  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  reference  to  the  office  and  duties 
of  the  Christian  ministry,  if  not  exhaustive,  may  at 
least  be  pronounced  full  and  complete  in  its  several 
parts.  It  exhibits  the  practice  and  precepts  of  the 
apostles,  in  harmony  with  the  example  and  commands 
of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church.  The  same  sacred 
record  makes  it  plain  that  the  appointment  of  a  min- 
istry was  both  the  earliest  and  latest  solicitude  of  the 
Savior  when  upon  earth.  The  call  of  his  disciples — 
the  twelve — was  among  his  first  public  acts  ;  their 
commission,  as  apostles,  given  them,  probably,  in  the 


THE  SAVIOR'S  SOLICITUDE.  73 

presence  of  "above  five  hundred  brethren,"  was  his 
last.  In  like  manner,  throughout  the  whole  apostolic 
administration,  the  line  of  distinction  between  minis- 
ters-of  various  grades  and  "the  brethren,"  or  "the 
faithful,"  is  kept  up  with  equal  clearness.  Even  in 
the  book  of  Revelation,  while  the  dignity  and  privi- 
leges of  all  whom  Christ  hath  washed  from  their  sins 
in  his  own  blood  are  indicated  by  the  statement  that 
he  hath  made  them  "  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and 
his  Father,"  we  also  read  of  the  "angels  of  the 
Churches,"  and  of  the  "  elders  before  the  Lamb,"  and 
"  before  the  throne,"  and  thus  learn  that,  t^oth  on 
earth  and  in  heaven,  distinctions,  established  for  im- 
portant objects  in  connection  with  the  Church,  will  not 
cease  to  J)e  recognized  in  the  world  to  come. 

While,  however,  Christ  established  a  ministry,  and 
provided  for  its  perpetuation  in  his  Church,  he  pre- 
scribed for  it  no  lineal  descent  or  ceremonial  succes- 
sion. The  ministry  of  the  gospel  was  designed  to  be 
spiritual,  and  not  carnal ;  an  active  working  agency 
for  the  salvation  of  men,  and  not  a  caste  set  apart  for 
ritual  observances  or  ceremonial  display.  Hence  the 
continuance  of  the  true  ministry  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  made  dependent  upon  the  direct  call  of  the 
Head  of  the  Church,  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  the  co-operation  of  a  witnessing  Church. 

7 


74  ^^^  MINISTERIAL  CALL. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  MINISTERIAL  CALL.— HISTORICAL  VIEW. 

THE  fact  of  a  special  divine  call  to  religious 
offices  is  familiarly  recognized  throughout  the 
Old  Testament  Scriptures.  The  call  or  appointment 
of  Aaron  and  his  sons  to  the  Jewish  priesthood  is 
stated  at  length  in  Exodus  xxviii  and  Numbers  xviii. 
In  like  manner  the  Levites  were  appointed  to  the 
subordinate  offices  of  the  sanctuary.  The  call  of 
Moses  to  be  the  deliverer  and  lawgiver  of  the  chosen 
people  was  not  less  distinct  than  that  of  Aaron  to  the 
priesthood,  while  it  was  strictly  personal.  See  Ex- 
odus iii,  2-16;  iv,  1-17;  xix,  9,  20.  So  in  the  case 
of  the  greater  and  lesser  prophets,  from  Samuel  to 
Malachi ;  God  called,  "  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto "  them  ;  "  the  burden  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  " 
was  upon  them.  They  "  spake  as  they  were  moved 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  ever  regarded  their  office  as 
divinely  appointed.  The  latter  class  of  calls  indicates 
that,  in  the  higher  phases  even  of  a  ceremonial  re- 
ligion, the  divine  authority  was  manifested  through 
spiritual  agencies.  Under  the  Mosaic  economy,  only 
the  merest  ritualism  and  the  ordinances  of  a  "  worldly 
sanctuary"  were  committed  to  lineal  descent.  In 
Christianity  such  ordinances  were  abolished,  and  no 


DIVINE  PLAN  OF  SUCCESSION.  ?$ 

occasion  was  left  for  the  hereditary  transmission  of 
divine  appointments.  Hence,  as  might  be  expected, 
the  call  of  the  true  Christian  minister  is  both  personal 
and  spiritual. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  institution  of  the  chris- 
tian ministry  our  Lord  provided  for  its  per-    ^^^^^^^^^^ 
petuation  by  the  joint  action  of  the  Church    of  the  christian 

•-!-»•  ministry. 

and  of  the  divine  prerogative.  Fertment 
and  specific  instruction  on  this  point  is  recorded  from 
the  Savior's  own  lips,  both  by  Matthew  and  Luke,  in 
the  significant  and  impressive  command,  "  Pray  ye 
therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  will  send 
forth  laborers  into  his  harvest." 

The  language  of  this  injunction,  which  must  be 
considered  as  permanently  binding  upon  the  Church, 
implies  clearly  that  Christ,  as  the  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest, will  ever  maintain  the  prerogative  of  calling  and 
sending  laborers  into  his  harvest,  while  he  also  re- 
quires his  people  to  pray  for  the  same  object.  This 
is  in  harmony  with  the  whole  economy  of  grace. 
Christians  are  taught  to  pray  for  the  coming  of 
Christ's  kingdom,  and  for  all  other  good  objects 
which  it  is  the  will  of  God  to  accomplish,  and  not 
only  to  pray  but  to  labor  for  them,  and  thus  become 
co-workers  with  God. 

Not  only  was  the  divine  plan  of  ministerial  succes- 
sion indicated  by  the  precept  quoted,  but  also  by 
repeated  examples  recorded  in  the  New  Testament, 
as  occurring  after  the  Savior's  ascension.  Although 
most  of  these  examples  were  alluded  to  in  the  fore- 
going chapter,  they  deserve  to  be  more  fully  consid- 
ered in  this  connection. 


y6  THE  CALL  OF  MATTHIAS, 

A.  The  call  and  appointment  of  Matthias ^  to  the 
apostleship. 

The  first  public  act  of  the  Church,  after  Christ's 
ascension,  involved  the  duty  the  Savior  had  appointed 
of  praying  that  "He  would  send  forth  laborers  into 
his  harvest."  Even  while  the  apostles  and  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty  disciples  were  waiting  at  Jeru- 
salem for  the  Pentecostal  baptism,  Peter  stood  up  in 
their  midst  and  declared  that  one  of  the  disciples 
must  be  ordained  to  be  a  witness  with  the  apostles 
of  Christ's  resurrection.  "  And  they  appointed  two, 
Joseph  called  Barsabas,  and  Matthias.  And  they 
prayed,  and  said.  Thou,  Lord,  which  knowest  the 
hearts  of  all  men,  show  whether  of  these  two  thou 
hast  chosen,  that  he  may  take  part  of  this  ministry 
and  apostleship,  from  which  Judas  by  transgression 
fell.  .  .  And  they  gave  forth  their  lots  ;  and  the 
lot  fell  upon  Matthias  ;  and  he  was  numbered  with 
the  eleven  apostles."     Acts  i,  23-26. 

In  this  transaction  a  beautiful  harmony  is  apparent 
between  the  action  of  the  Church  and  the  exercise  of 
the  divine  prerogative,  i.  Thd  Church  discerned  the 
necessity  of  the  appointment,  and  exercised  its  judg- 
ment in  reference  to  the  general  character  and  quali- 
fications of  the  men  adapted  to  fill  it.  2.  The  Church 
recognized  the  necessity '  of  the  divine  choice  or  call 
as  between  the  two  candidates  for  this  particular  ap- 
pointment, and  prayed  for  an  indication  of  that  choice. 
3.  The  giving  forth  of  lots  as  a  means  of  ascertain- 
ing  the  divine  choice  was  in  accordance  with  an 
ancient  custom,  which,  in  that  case,  may  have  been 
equivalent  to  a  ballot,  by  which  each  individual  would 


APPOINTMENT  OF  DEACONS.  7/ 

express  the  combined  result  of  his  judgment  and  the 
divine  impression  upon  his  mind.     4.  Thus,  while  the 
Church  prayed  and  voted,  God  guided  the  choice  and 
called  the  candidate  through  the  action  of  the  Church 
as  well  as  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
B.    The  appointment  of  the  seven  deacons. 
In  like  manner,  when,  after  the  Pentecost,  it  became 
necessary  to  have  the  hands  of  the  apostles  strength- 
ened by  the  appointment  of  co-laborers,  there  was  a 
direct  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  the  Church  as  to  the 
quahfications   of  those  who  were  to  be  their  future 
ministers.     "  Wherefore,  brethren,  look  ye  out  among 
you   seven   men   of  honest  report,  full   of  the   Holy 
Ghost  and  wisdom."     Acts  vi,   3.     When  thus   ap- 
pealed to,  the  Church  made  its  selection,  as  we  may 
safely  presume,  after  the  manner  previously  described, 
and  which  therefore  needed  not  to  be  restated.     At 
all  events,  the  choice  had  primary  reference  to  spirit- 
ual gifts,  including  doubtless  the  personal  conviction 
of  a  call  to  the  public  service  of  God.     That  choice 
was  ratified  by  prayer  and  the  imposition  of  the  hands 
of  the  apostles,  acts  which  indicated  that  sacred  com- 
bination of  divine  and   human  agency  which   ought 
ever  to  exist  in  ministerial  appointments. 

C.  The  call  and  appointment  of  the  apostle  Paid. 
It  is  most  usual  to  consider  the  narrative  of  the 
ninth  of  Acts  with  reference  to  the  miraculous  con- 
viction and  subsequent  conversion  of  the  persecuting 
Saul  of  Tarsus.  That  narrative,  however,  is  equally 
instructive  in  reference  to  the  subject  of  the  present 
chapter,  a  call  to  the  Christian  ministry.  Indeed,  this 
subject  is  prominently  suggested  in  various  parts  of 


yS  THE  APOSTLE  PAUL, 

the  narrative,  so  much  so,  that  we  are  authorized  to 
infer  that  the  Savior's  miraculous  appearance  had  a 
direct  reference,  not  only  to  the  conversion  of  a  sin- 
ner, but  to  the  call  of  an  apostle.  Immediately  on 
Saul's  recognition  of  that  Jesus  whom,  in  the  person 
of  his  disciples,  he  was  persecuting,  he,  trembling  and 
astonished,  said,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do  ?"  The  form  of  the  question  implies  an  impression 
already  conveyed  to  his  mind  that  the  Lord  was  sum- 
moning him  to  some  important  work.  The  answer  is 
remarkable,  in  that  it  involved  the  co-operation  of  the 
Church,  even  in  this  extraordinary  case,  both  in  refer- 
ence to  Saul's  conversion  and  call  to  the  ministry. 
"  Arise,  and  go  into  the  city,  and  it  shall  be  told  thee 
what  thou  must  do,"  Corresponding  to  this  instruc- 
tion, the  Lord  said  to  Ananias,  "  Go  thy  way,  \i.  e.,  go 
to  Saul  of  Tarsus :]  "  for  he  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto 
me,  to  bear  my  name  before  the  Gentiles,  and  kings, 
and  the  children  of  Israel :  for  I  will  show  him  how 
great  things  he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake.  And 
Ananias  went  his  way,  and  entered  into  the  house  ; 
and  putting  his  hands  on  him  said.  Brother  Saul,  the 
Lord  hath  sent  me  unto  thee  that  thou  mightest  re- 
ceive thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
As  in  other  cases,  the  record  here  is  very  brief;  but 
we  are  authorized  to  infer  that  with  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  Paul  at  once  felt  himself  moved  to 
preach  the  gospel.  It  is  immediately  recorded,  "  And 
straightway  he  preached  Christ  in  the  synagogues, 
that  he  is  the  Son  of  God."  This  is  to  be  understood 
as  the  first  and  appropriate  impulse  of  the  newly 
called  apostle.     But  a  further  co-operation  and  sane- 


CLEAR  CONVICTIONS  OF  DUTY.  79 

tion  of  the  Church  was  necessary  before  the  com- 
mencement of  his  specially  appointed  ministry.  On 
his  arrival  at  Jerusalem,  after  a  period  of  retirement 
in  Arabia,  Barnabas,  in  person,  *'  brought  him  to  the 
apostles,  and  declared  unto  them  how  he  had  seen  the 
Lord  in  the  way,  and  that  he  had  spoken  to  him,  and 
how  he  had  preached  boldly  at  Damascus  in  the  name 
of  Jesus."  On  this  recommendation  "  he  was  with 
them,  coming  in  and  going  out  at  Jerusalem." 

But  it  was  not  till  after  a  still  longer  probation, 
during  which  he  appears  to  have  exercised  a  prelim- 
inary ministry,  that  he  was  publicly  ordained  to  his 
great  office  of  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  This  event 
occurred  in  the  Church  at  Antioch,  where,  after  a  sea- 
son of  ministering  and  fasting  in  connection  with  cer- 
tain other  prophets  and  teachers,  "  the  Holy  Ghost 
said.  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work 
whereunto  I  have  called  them.  And  when  they  had 
fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands  on  them,  they 
sent  them  away."  Acts  xiii,  1-3.  Thus  it  is  seen, 
that  although  miraculously  called  to  the  service  and 
ministry  of  Christ,  Paul  submitted  himself  "to  every 
ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake."  In  other 
words,  he  recognized  the  co-ordinate  agency  of  the 
Church  in  publicly  ordaining  him  by  pious,  though 
not  by  apostolic  hands,  to  the  apostolic  office.  It 
is  instructive  to  notice  with  what  confidence  and 
emphasis  he  afterward  reiterated  in  nearly  all  his 
epistles  his  conviction  of  the  divine  and  personal  call 
under  which  he  devoted  his  life  to  the  ministry  of 
the  gospel.  Romans  i,  i :  **  Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ,  called  to  be  an  apostle,  separated  unto  the 


So  CALL   OF  THE  ELDERS. 

gospel,  of  God."  I  Cor.  i,  i :  "  Paul  called  to  be  an 
apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  through  the  will  of  God." 
Gal.  i,  I :  "  Paul  an  apostle,  not  of  men,  neither  by 
man,  but  by  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the  Father  who 
raised  him  from  the  dead."  i  Tim.  i,  i :  "  Paul  an 
apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  commandment  of  God 
our  Savior  and  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

D.  The  call  of  the  elders  of  the  New  Testament 
Churches. 

The  first  appointment  of  elders  is  recorded  in  Acts 
xiv,  23 :  "And  when  they  [Saul  and  Barnabas,  who 
had  been  visiting  numerous  Churches,  and  confirming 
the  souls  and  encouraging  the  faith  of  the  disciples] 
had  ordained  them  elders  in  every  Church,  and  had 
prayed  with  fasting,  they  commended  them  to  the 
Lord,  on  whom  they  believed."  It  is  to  be  observed 
that  the  extreme  brevity  of  the  history  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  precluded  either  repetition  or  detail, 
and  yet  from  the  analogy  of  circumstances  we  may 
infer  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  ordination  of  Mat- 
thias and  the  seven  deacons,  so  in  the  appointment 
of  elders  in  the  Churches,  prayer  for  divine  guidance 
in  the  selection  of  men  preceded  the  act  of  ordina- 
tion, while  that  act  was  appropriately  followed  by 
supplication  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  work  they 
might  perform. 

From  a  comparison  of  the  above  record  with  the 
language  of  Paul's  address  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus, 
we  may  infer  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  apostles 
to  ordain  to  the  office  of  elder  those,  and  only  those, 
who  by  suitable  indications  evinced  to  the  Church 
that  they  were  called  of  God  or  moved  by  the  Holy 


MOVED   BY  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  8 1 

Ghost  to  take  upon  them  the  sacred  office.  The 
same  view  is  corroborated  by  various  expressions  in 
the  epistles  of  Paul  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  some  of 
which  have  been  already  quoted. 

These  varied  but  harmonious  examples,  extending 
from  the  beginning  of  Christ's  public  ministry  to  the 
end  of  the  inspired  New  Testament  record,  are  suffi- 
cient to  prove  conclusively  that  the  mode  instituted 
by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  for  the  perpetuation 
of  his  true  ministry  in  the  earth  contemplates,  in 
every  case,  a  personal  divine  call,  accredited  by  cor- 
responding impressions  and  action  on  the  part  of  a 
witnessing  Church. 

Well  had  it  been  for  the  Church  and  the  world  if 
this  important  requirement  had  never  been  lost  sight 
of  by  those  professing  Christianity,  but  unhappily  at 
this  very  point  there  arose  the  germ  of  a  fearful  apos- 
tasy.    It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  during  the  life- 
time of  the  apostles,  and  for  some  generations  later, 
the  apostolic   examples  and   precepts  were  generally 
followed.     But  it  is  only  too  apparent,  from  the  rec- 
ords of  ecclesiastical  history  and  the  writings  of  the 
early  fathers,   that   loose  and   corrupt  views    of   the 
ministerial    office    began   to   creep   into   the    Church 
much  earlier  than  would  have  been  thought  possible. 
Error  on  this  subject  began  to  be  developed  prima- 
rily  in    the    most    insidious   manner.      The   apostles 
Paul,   Peter,   and   John   had   attributed   the   function 
of  priesthood   to  the  whole  body  of  true  believers 
in   their  capacity  of  offering  up  "spiritual   sacrifices 
acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ."* 

*Rom.  xii,  i;  Hcb.  xiii,  15;  i  Pet.  ii,  5,  9;  Rev  i,  6;  v,  10. 


82  INCEPTION  OF  ERROR. 

But  by  degrees,  probably  through  the  assumptions 
of  some  and  the  carelessness  of  others,  this  impor- 
tant doctrine  in  reference  to  the  dignity  and  privi- 
lege of  every  real  Christian  became  obscured  by  the 
adoption  of  the  term  priestljood  in  application  to  the 
Christian  ministry  as  a  collective  body,  inclusive  of 
bishops,  presbyters,  and  deacons.*  While  such  a  use 
of  the  term  was  not  authorized  by  any  inspired  exam- 
ple, it  nevertheless  became  very  convenient  to  both 
Greeks  and  Romans,  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
the  analogous  idea  of  a  pagaji  priesthood,  and  equally 
so  to  persons  of  Hebrew  descent  familiar  with  the 
idea  and  history  of  the  Jewish  priesthood. 

Innocent  as  such  a  use  of  the  term  priesthood 
doubtless  seemed  at  first,  it  was  the  germ  of  a  fun- 
damental and  far-reaching  error.  When  that  error 
once  gained  foot-hold,  it  was  but  another  step  in  the 
same  direction  to  denominate  individuals  belonging 
to  the  clerical  body  priests,  a  thing  never  done  by 
Christ  or  his  apostles.  The  term  priest  was  but 
rarely,  and  with  apparent  caution,  applied  to  Chris- 
tian ministers  by  any  writer  of  the  ancient  Church 
until  near  the  close  of  the  third  century.  But  when 
the  use  of  the  term  in  that  sense  became  common, 
and  the  minds  of  Christians  became  accustomed  to 
the  perversion  it  involved,  the  next  step  in  the  same 


*Quid  commemorem  diaconos  in  tertio?  Quid  presbyteros  in  se- 
cundo  sacerdotio  constitutes  ?  Ipsi  apices  et  principes  omnium,  aliqui 
episcopi  illis  temporibus.  Instrumenta  divinas  legis  impie  tradide- 
runt." — Optatus  de  Milevi,  Lib.  I,  p.  35. 

"  If  any  bishop,  or  presbyter,  or  deacon,  or  any  one  of  the  catalogue 
of  the  priesthood,  when  an  oblation  is  made,  do  not  communicate,  let 
him  mention  his  reason,"  etc. — Apostolic  Canons^  No.  IX. 


JUSTIN  MARTYR.  83 

direction  was  the  invention  of  some  form  or  theory 
of  sacrifice  adapted  to  the  priestly  office,  and  without 
which  the  term  priest  as  applied  to  a  Christian  min- 
ister would  be  an  obvious  misnomer.  Unhappily  the 
spiritual  idea  of  a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  in  the 
eucharist  had  already  become  in  a  great  degree  mate- 
rialized prior  to  the  professed  conversion  of  Constan- 
tine.  After  that  event,  when  the  honors  of  the  state 
began  to  be  conferred  upon  bishops  and  presbyters, 
rapid  progress  was  made  in  the  development  of  a 
hierarchical  theory  of  Christian  priesthood,  and  in 
the  adoption  and  practice  of  priestly  ceremonies. 

In  such  connections  and  under  such  influences  the 
idea  of  a  spiritual  call  to  the  ministry  rapidly  faded, 
and  ultimately  became  lost  in  the  advancing  gloom 
of  mediaeval  error  and  superstition.  Nearly  if  not 
quite  all  the  expressions  in  the  earlier  fathers  bearing 
directly  or  indirectly  on  this  subject  are  in  harmony 
with  apostolic  usage.  Justin  Martyr  knows  nothing 
of  a  priesthood  among  Christians,  but  in  describing 
their  usages  in  the  second  century  he  speaks  of  the 
eucharist  as  a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  and  of  those 
administering  it  not  as  priests  or  Levites,  but  as  the 
"president  of  the  brethren,"  [elder,]  who  conducts 
the  religious  services,  and  of  the  deacons,  who  assist 
in  distributing  the  elements.* 

Even   Cyprian,  the  high  churchman   of   the  third 

**"  On  the  day  called  Sunday  all  who  live  in  cities  or  in  the  country 
gather  together  to  one  place,  and  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles  or  the 
writings  of  the  prophets  are  read  as  long  as  time  permits.  Then, 
when  the  reader  has  ceased,  the  president  verbally  instructs,  and 
exhorts  to  the  imitation  of  these  good  things.  Then  we  all  rise 
together  and  pray,  and,  as  we  before  said,  when  our  prayer  is  ended 


84  CYPRIAN. 

century,  addresses  none  of  his  epistles  to  priests, 
but  numbers  of  them  to  presbyters  and  deacons  as 
such.  In  the  text  of  his  letters  and  other  writings 
he  occasionally  introduces  the  term  priest,  but  chiefly 
with  reference  to  the  aggregate  body  of  the  clergy. 
Although  he  habitually  confuses  the  functions  of  the 
Levitical  priesthood  with  those  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry, yet  he  insists  upon  a  divine  call  to  the  latter, 
corroborated  also  by  the  choice  of  the  Church.  Wit- 
ness his  comment  on  the  episcopal  appointment  of 
Cornelius : 

"  Cornelius  was  made  bishop  by  the  judgment  of  God  and 
of  his  Christ,  by  the  testimony  of  ahiiost  all  the  clergy,  by  the 
suffrage  of  the  people  who  were  then  present,  and  by  the 
assembly  of  ancient  priests  and  good  men." — Epistle  LI  to 
Aiitonianus. 

Chrysostom,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, wrote  a  treatise  "  On  the  Priesthood,"  from  both 
the  title  and  tenor  of  which  it  appears  that  the  Levit- 
ical idea  had  at  that  time  gained  complete  ascendency 
in  the  East  as  well  as  in  the  West.  While  this  work 
of  the  celebrated  preacher  of  Antioch  and  Constan- 
tinople is  not  wanting  in  many  excellent  sentiments 
respecting  ministerial  duties,  in  whatever  aspect  they 
are  regarded,  nevertheless  it  gives  pertinent  illustra- 
tions of  the  erroneous  and  exaggerated  views  which 
then  and  thenceforward  prevailed  in  reference  to  the 
call  and  office  of  the  Christian  minister.     The  work 

bread,  and  wine,  and  water  are  brought,  and  the  president  in  like 
manner  offers  prayers  and  thanksgivings,  according  to  his  ability,  and 
the  people  assent,  saying.  Amen ;  and  there  is  a  distribution  to  each, 
and  a  participation  of  that  over  which  thanks  have  been  given,  and  to 
those  who  are  absent  a  portion  is  sent  by  the  deacons." — i  Apology^ 
chap.  Ixvii. 


CHRYSOSTOM,  8$ 

opens  with  a  narrative,  which,  whether  true  or  fic- 
titious, indicates  that  the  custom  of  the  Church  had 
greatly  degenerated  in  reference  to  its  mode  of 
selecting  and  inducting  candidates  into  the  sacred 
office.  The  narrative  relates  to  himself  and  Basil, 
and  is  generally  accepted  as  authentic.  The  sub- 
stance of  it  is,  that  young  Chrysostom  had,  contrary 
to  his  .secret  intention,  assented  to  the  persuasions 
of  Basil  to  be  ordained  with  him  to  the  priesthood. 
Chrysostom  says  : 

"  I  used  such  means  as  convinced  him  that  if  any  thing  of  the 
kind  sliould  happen  I  would  concur  with  him.  After  no  great 
length  of  time,  therefore,  the  person  arrived  who  intended  to 
ordain  us.  I  concealed  myself.  He,  knowing  nothing  of  my 
design,  is  introduced  to  the  assembly  on  some  other  pretext,  and 
accepts  the  yoke,  confiding  in  my  prornise  to  follow  him,  or 
rather  imagining  that  I  had  gone  before  him  ;  for  some  persons, 
even  in  the  assembly,  helped  to  deceive  him."  "  But  when  after 
a  time  he  heard  that  I  had  escaped,  he  came  to  me,  and  with 
shame  and  confusion  in  his  countenance  prepared  to  speak.  .  . 
Seeing  him,  therefore,  filled  with  tears,  and  overwhelmed  with 
confusion,  I,  who  knew  the  cause,  laughed  for  delight,  and,  when 
I  had  forcibly  seized  his  right  hand  and  kissed  it,  glorified  God 
that  my  artifice  had  succeeded  so  well." 

What  a  departure  this  from  the  devout  sincerity  and 
godly  simplicity  of  the  primitive  Christians  !  Artifice 
practiced,  and  deception  boasted  of,  as  a  means  of 
inveigling  a  young  man  into  the  sacred  office,  from 
which  another  escapes  as  from  a  snare !  Yet  the  re- 
luctance of  Chrysostom,  in  reference  to  accepting  the 
functions  of  the  ministry,  seem  commendable  in  com- 
parison with  the  eager  partisanship  and  reckless  am- 
bition with  which  it  had  already  become  customary 
to  seek  the  orders  and  offices  of  the  Church.     His 


S6  GRO  WING  CORR  UPTIONS. 

subsequent  argument  with  Basil  strongly  sets  forth 
the  evils  against  which  he  protested : 

"  Some,"  said  he,  "  when  they  see  the  priesthood  continue 
long  in  the  hands  of  one  person,  though  the  impiety  of  the  ac- 
tion would  restrain  them  from  killing  him,  are  eager  to  depose 
him,  every  one  being  ambitious  to  succeed  him."  "  Shall  I 
bring  before  you  another  scene  in  this  warfare,  which  is  full  of 
innumerable  dangers  ?  Go  and  take  a  view  of  the  public  festi- 
vals, during  which  it  is  customary  for  the  ecclesiastical  elections 
to  be  made,  and  you  will  see  the  priest  assailed  by  as  many 
accusations  as  there  are  persons  subject  to  his  government. 
Those  who  have  a  share  in  bestowing  this  honor  are  divided 
into  many  parties,  and  you  may  see  the  council  of  presbyters 
unable  to  come  to  an  agreement,  either  among  themselves  or 
with  the  bishop  who  presides  over  them,  concerning  the  person 
who  ought  to  be  preferred,  but  standing  aloof  from  each  other, 
while  one  chooses  this  man,  and  another  that.  One  man  says, 
Met  him  be  admitted,  because  he  is  of  a  noble  family  ;'  another, 
*  because  he  is  possessed  of  much  wealth,  and  has  no  need  to 
be  maintained  out  of  the  revenues  of  the  Church  !'  a  third,  'be- 
cause he  has  deserted  from  the  opposite  party  !'  Some  are 
eager  to  give  the  highest  honor  to  their  intimate  friend,  some  to 
their  relation,  some  to  any  one  who  will  flatter  them  more  than 
others  ;  and  no  one  looks  to  the  person  who  is  fit  for  it,  nor 
thinks  of  inquiring  into  the  qualities  of  the  soul."  "Other 
pleas  have  been  admitted  still  more  absurd;  for  some  are  even 
taken  into  the  order  of  the  clergy,  that  they  may  not  range 
themselves  with  an  opposite  party ;  others,  on  account  of  their 
profligacy,  lest,  in  resentment  for  being  slighted,  they  should 
commit  some  grievous  wrong  !  Can  any  thing  be  more  im- 
proper than  this,  when  wretches,  teeming  wnth  unnumbered 
crimes,  are  courted  for  reasons  for  which  they  ought  to  be  pun- 
ished, and  even  advanced  to  the  priestly  dignity  for  causes 
which  ought  to  prevent  them  from  passing  over  the  pavements 
of  the  Church  !  Need  we  look  further  for  the  cause  of  God's 
anger  when  we  commit  concerns  so  holy  and  so  fearful  to 
wicked  and  worthless  men  who  will  be  sure  to  pollute  them  !" 

While  Chrysostom  could  thus  clearly  point  out  the 
evils  which  degraded  the  character  and  neutralized  the 


THE  GERM  OF  TRANSUBSTANTIA  TION.  87 

moral  power  of  the  ministry  in  his  day,  he  failed  to 
discover  their  real  cause,  which,  at  least  to  a  large 
degree,  consisted  in  an  apostasy  of  the  Church  from 
the  Savior's  appointed  mode  of  calling  his  true  min- 
isters. Aside  from  the  true  theory  of  the  Christian 
ministry,  it  was  in  vain  that  Chrysostom  sought  to 
purify  and  elevate  the  sacred  office  by  exaggerating 
its  character  and  design,  as  in  the  following  language : 

"  Though  the  priesthood  is  discharged  upon  earth,  it  is  ranked 
among  heavenly  ordinances,  and  with  good  reason  ;  for  it  was 
established  ...  by  the  Comforter  himself,  who  has  intrusted 
men  yet  dwelling  in  the  flesh  with  a  ministry  like  that  of  angels, 
for  which  reason  the  person,  who  is  consecrated  to  this  office, 
ought  to  be  as  pure  as  if  he  stood  in  the  heavens  themselves, 
encircled  by  those  superior  beings.  For,  if  even  the  institutions  . 
of  the  law  were  awful  and  most  impressive,  .  .  .  when  we  ex- 
amine the  institutions  of  grace,  we  shall  feel  those  awful  and 
most  impressive  spectacles  to  have  been  of  slight  moment,  and 
what  was  said  of  the  law  itself  to  be  true  of  its  ordinances,  that 
even  that  which  was  made  glorious  had  no  glory  in  this  respect, 
by  reason  of  the  glory  that  excelleth.  For  when  you  see  the 
Lord  sacrificed  and  laid  upon  the  altar,  and  the  priest  standing 
and  praying  over  the  sacrifice,  and  all  the  people  impurpled  with 
his  most  precious  blood,  do  you  then  fancy  yourself  among  men 
or  continuing  upon  the  earth  ?  Are  you  not  instantly  trans- 
ported into  the  heavens,  so  as,  discarding  every  fleshly  senti- 
ment from  your  mind,  to  look  around  with  naked  soul  and 
disembodied  spirit  on  celestial  objects  ?  O,  the  wonderful  phi- 
lanthropy of  God  !  He  who  sits  above  with  the  Father  is  at 
that  instant  holden  in  the  hands  of  every  one,  giving  himself  to 
those  who  clasp  and  embrace  him,  as  all  may  clearly  see  with 
the  eyes  of  faith." 

Chrysostom  seeks  further  to  illustrate  the  dignity 
of  the  priesthood  by  the  argument,  still  current  in  the 
Roman  and  Greek  Churches,  of  the  power  of  the  keys. 

"  Though  temporal  rulers  have  authority  to  bind,  their  power 
reaches  only  to  the  body  ;   whereas  this  bond  penetrates  the 


SS  THE  SACERDOTAL  IDEA. 

very  soul,  and  passes  up  into  the  heavens,  where  God  ratifies 
the  act  of  his  priests,  and  the  Lord  confirms  the  decree  of  his 
servants.  What,  indeed,  has  he  given  them,  but  the  whole 
authority  of  heaven?  For  'whosesoever  sins,'  says  he,  'ye 
remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye 
retain,  they  are  retained.'  What  authority  can  be  greater  than 
this  .?  The  Father  hath  committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son. 
But  I  see  it  now  again  delegated  by  the  Son  to  the  priests  ;  for 
they  are  advanced  to  this  office  with  as  absolute  a  commission 
as  if  they  had  been  already  translated  into  the  heavens,  as  if 
they  were  already  exalted  above  human  nature,  and  exempted 
from  the  dominion  of  our  passions  !" 

Here  we  have  the  sacerdotal  idea  set  forth  in  an 
extravagant  form  ;  and  yet,  when  we  compare  the  last 
class  of  extracts  with  that  which  portrayed  the  disor- 
derly strifes  attendant  upon  elections  to  the  priest- 
hood, and  also  the  bad  character  of  some  who  held 
the  office,  we  have  proof  that  error,  however  plausible, 
is  not  conducive  to  the  practice  of  the  truth.  No  one 
of  the  Church  fathers  has  been  more  admired  by  pos- 
terity than  Chrysostom,  and  we  thus  have  in  his 
words  the  theory  of  the  ministry  which  had  crept 
into  the  Church  prior  to  the  fifth  century. 

It  would  be  easy  to  show,  by  extracts  from  other 
writers,  that,  as  time  advanced,  this  theory  was  not 
improved,  but  rather  made  worse,  both  in  its  form  of 
statement  and  in  its  practical  application.  A  spuri- 
ous work,  entitled  "  The  Constitutions  of  the  Holy 
Apostles,"  was,  at  about  that  period,  palmed  off  upon 
the  Church,  and  made  to  serve  as  an  authoritative 
guide  in  reference  to  matters  of  organization  and  dis- 
cipline. The  design  of  that  work  obviously  was  to 
complete  and  maintain  the  system  of  hierarchical 
innovations,  which  was  then  being  foisted  into  the 


DISORDER L  Y  ELECTIONS.  89 

Christian  Church,  to  its  great  detriment.  A  few  ex- 
tracts, relating  to  the  ministry,  are  given  in  the  Ap- 
pendix,* to  iUustrate  the  unscrupulous  means  resorted 
to  for  the  establishment  and  support  of  a  scheme  of 
error,  which,  under  specious  pretenses,  wrought  incal- 
culable evil  to  Christianity.  Under  the  system  re- 
ferred to,  while  the  idea  of  a  spiritual  call  to  the 
sacred  office  was  apparently  recognized  in  the  for- 
mularies of  ordination,  yet,  in  reality,  it  was  practi- 
cally unknown  or  grossly  misapprehended.  Thus,  the 
Church,  having  practically  departed  from  a  great  cen- 
tral truth  of  the  Christian  system,  was  suffered  to 
lapse  into  deeper  and  deeper  gloom  for  many  succes- 
sive centuries.  Appointments  to  the  priesthood  be- 
came matters  of  routine,  like  elections  to  civil  office. 
Disorders  at  clerical  elections,  such  as  Chrysostom 
described,  would  be  distressing  to  devout  minds,  and 
would  have  their  influence  in  driving  the  best  men 
away  from  the  work  of  the  ministry  into  the  obscurity 
of  monasticism.  Hence  we  find  that  vast  numbers 
of  the  most  pious  men  of  the  early  and  mediaeval  cen- 
turies secluded  themselves  from  the  active  duties  of 
the  Christian  life,  retiring  to  deserts  and  mountains 
to  spend  their  days  in  fasting,  and  prayers,  and  pen- 
ances. It  became  customary  to  call  monks  by  emi- 
nence religious  (persons),  while  the  clergy  were  called 
secular  or  worldly  (persons),  not  having  taken  upon 
themselves  vows  of  poverty.  Had  correct  views  of 
ministerial  life  and  duty  continued  to  prevail,  it  is  safe 
to  infer  that  this  enormous  waste  of  time,  talent,  and 
energy  might  have  been  saved   to   the   Church,  and 

*  Vide  Appendix  A,  p.  561. 


90  RESULTS  OF  THE  SACERDOTAL  SYSTEM. 

thousands  upon  thousands  of  lives,  that  were  worse 
than  thrown  away  in  monkish  seclusion  and  profitless 
austerities,  would  have  been  actively  devoted  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  and  diligent  efforts  for  the 
salvation  of  men.  But  the  tendency  of  the  sacer- 
dotal theory  was  to  ignore  the  proper  design  and 
importance  of  preaching  in  the  very  proportion  it 
exaggerated  and  perverted  the  sacraments.  Hence, 
preaching  became  rare  and  inefficient,  while  sacer- 
dotal parade  displaced  the  simple  ritual  of  the  prim- 
itive Church.  Thus,  errors  of  practice  followed  erro- 
neous theories,  until  ecclesiastical  wickedness  became 
ascendant  in  high  places,  and  the  worst  of  sins  were 
practiced  under  the  sanction  of  priestly  example  and 
authority. 

It  is  proper  to  pause  here  and  consider  briefly  the 
consequences  entailed  upon  the  Church  by  that  early 
corruption  in  reference  to  the  character  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  of  which  so  many  illustrations  have 
been   given. 

I.  To  the  extent  that  the  sacerdotal  theory  was 
adopted  there  was  a  departure  from  the  simplicity  of 
the  truth  and  from  the  one  right  way  appointed  by 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church  for  the  establishment 
of  his  kingdom  upon  earth.  The  pretext  was  a  desire 
to  increase  the  dignity  of  the  ministerial  office,  but 
the  error  itself  was  not  the  less  corrupting.  It  led  to 
a  grasping  after  the  functions  and  titles  both  of  the 
Jewish  and  pagan  priesthoods.  Bishops  were  styled 
high-priests,  and  the  Bishop  of  Rome  Pontifex  Maxi- 
mus,  the  title  bestowed  upon  a  heathen  emperor  in 
his  capacity  of  supreme  director  of  the  system  of 


MULTIPLYING  ERRORS.  9 1 

heathen  worship.  Deacons  were  called  Levites,  and 
the  whole  body  of  the  clergy  became  occupied  with 
pompous  ritual  ceremonies,  instead  of  preaching  the 
gospel  and  maintaining  the  plain  and  edifying  wor- 
ship of  the  early  Christians. 

2.  A  pretended  priesthood  necessitated  a  pre- 
tended sacrifice.  Hence  the  invention  of  the  mass 
and  its  logical  sequence,  the  doctrine  of  transub- 
stantiation.  Hence  again  the  rejection  of  the  cup 
in  the  eucharist,  the  multiplication  of  pretended 
sacraments,  the  idea  of  priestly  absolution,  and  the 
consequent  practice  of  confession  to  man  rather  than 
to  God. 

3.  While  the  figment  of  a  Christian  priesthood 
seemed  to  aim  at  exalting  the  clerical  office,  it 
flagrantly  dishonored  the  great  High-Priest  of  our 
profession.  It  obscured  the  glory  of  that  complete 
redemption  which  he  wrought  out  for  sinners  by  his 
own  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation, 
and  satisfaction  offered  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 
If  Christ's  sacrifice  and  offering  of  himself  upon  the 
cross  was  actually  perfect  and  complete,  then  every 
attempt  to  offer  a  supplementary  sacrifice  must  have 
been  and  must  continue  to  be  a  mockery  of  truth,  a 
trifling  with  sacred  things,  and,  indeed,  a  sacrilegious 
burlesque  upon  the  most  solemn  transaction  ever  wit- 
nessed by  earth  or  heaven.  Think  of  the  millions 
of  such  ceremonies  enacted  in  the  name  of  Chris- 
tianity. Consider  the  wide-spread  misapprehension 
of  the  essential  truths  of  Christianity  inseparable 
from  such  a  practice,  and  reflect  that  this  misappre- 
hension not  only  pervades  the  popular  mind,  but  is 


92 


TENACITY  OF  ERROR. 


confirmed  by  the  authoritative  acts  of  great  councils 
of  the  Church.* 

4.  Notwithstanding  such  deplorable  consequences 
of  the  sacerdotal  dogma,  spreading  their  influence 
over  nations  and  centuries,  and  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  not  once  in  the  whole  New  Testament  is 
the  term  priest,  in  the  sense  of  one  who  offers  sacri- 
fice, applied  to  an  apostle  or  minister  of  the  gospel, 
yet  such  is  the  tenacity  of  error  that  some  Churches 
professedly  reformed  and  emancipated  from  Romish 
doctrines  still  use  the  term  priest,  and  maintain  the 
ceremony  of  ordaining  men  to  the  priesthood !  Thus 
it  is  that  even  in  Protestant  countries  and  in  the 
nineteenth  century  persons  are  educated  to  radical 
misconceptions  of  the  Christian  scheme,  and  prepared 
to  advance  from  one  grade  of  ritualism  to  another  till 
they  reach  the  bosom  of  a  Church  long  distinguished 
as  the  nourishing  mother  of  ecclesiastical  corruptions. 

5.  As  extremes  lead  to  extremes,  we  are  compelled 
to  regard  the  error  now  reprobated  as  chargeable  with 
the  opposite  error  by  which  some,  seeking  to  avoid 

*  Witness  the  standard  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Rome  "on  the 
sacrifice  of  the  mass  "  as  determined  by  the  Council  of  Trent : 

Canon  i.  "If  any  one  shall  say  that  a  true  and  proper  sacrifice  is 
not  offered  to  God  in  the  mass,  or  that  what  is  to  be  offered  is  nothing 
else  than  giving  Christ  to  us  to  eat,  let  him  be  accursed. 

Canon  2.  "If  any  one  shall  say  that  by  these  words,  'Do  this  in 
remembrance  of  me,'  Christ  did  not  appoint  his  apostles  priests,  or  did 
not  ordain  that  they  and  other  priests  should  offer  his  body  and  blood, 
let  him  be  accursed. 

Canon  3,  "If  any  one  shall  say  that  the  mass  is  only  a  service  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving,  or  a  bare  commemoration  of  the  sacrifice 
made  on  the  cross,  and  not  a  propitiatory  offering,  or  that  it  only  ben- 
efits him  who  receives  it,  and  ought  not  to  be  offered  for  the  living  and 
the  dead,  for  sins,  punishments,  satisfactions,  and  other  necessities,  let 
him  be  accursed." 


A   DARK  MILLENNIUM.  93 

the  consequences  of  the  sacerdotal  theory,  attempt 
to  ignore  the  ministerial  office  in  Christianity,  and 
deny  all  distinctions  as  between  the  ministry  and 
membership  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  truth,  as 
usual,  lies  between  extremes,  and  the  error  last  re- 
ferred to  is,  like  its  opposite,  plainly  confuted  by  the 
whole  line  of  New  Testament  examples  and  precepts 
heretofore  exhibited  as  illustrating  the  offices  of  the 
Christian  Church  and  the  functions  of  its  ministry. 

During  the  ten  centuries  which  intervened  between 
the  days  of  Chrysostom  and  Luther  only  here  and 
there  a  true  light  shone  amid  surrounding  darkness. 
And  yet  there  was  not  an  entire  obliteration  of  the 
idea  that  a  spiritual  divine  call  was  essential  to  the 
true  minister.  That  idea  floated  dimly  in  the  letter 
of  ordination  services  long  after  the  spirit  had  fled. 
The  words  of  the  Greek  Church  were,  "The  divine 
grace  which  helpeth  them  that  are  weak  and  suppli- 
eth  that  which  lacketh  chose  this  godly  deacon  to  be 
priest."  The  prayer  for  the  ordination  of  a  bishop 
prescribed  by  the  Apostolical  Constitutions  contained 
these  words :  "  Grant  by  thy  name,  O  God,  who 
searchest  the  hearts,  that  this  thy  servant  whom 
thou  hast  chosen  to  be  a  bishop,"  etc. 

As  bishops  had  the  power  to  change  the  ritual  of 
ordination  in  their  several  dioceses,  it  can  not  be  af- 
firmed that  uniformity  prevailed  either  in  the  East  or 
West,  and  it  is  likely  that  the  form  deteriorated  with 
the  conception  of  its  meaning.  But  the  form  can 
not  be  considered  of  much  importance  when  it  ceased 
to  represent  a  living  faith  on  the  part  both  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  candidate  for  ordination.     When 


94  PLURALITIES, 

from  time  to  time  men  of  earnest  spirit  strove  to 
secure  reforms,  whether  in  monastic  orders  or  in 
the  Church  at  large,  they  usually  directed  their  first 
efforts  toward  abuses  of  the  clerical  office  and  char- 
acter. Gregory  of  Nazianzen  in  his  apologetical  ora- 
tion declares  in  scathing  language  that  the  vices  and 
disorders  of  the  priesthood  of  his  times  had  driven 
him  to  the  wilderness,  and  he  fervently  pleads  with 
priests  to  begin  their  solemn  services  with  an  obla- 
tion of  themselves  to  God. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  hierarchical  system  mer- 
chandise began  to  be  made  of  the  house  of  God  by 
non-residence  and  a  plurality  of  livings.  So-called 
priests  contrived  to  perform  their  functions  by  proxy, 
and,  though  they  devoured  the  income  of  the  Churches, 
they  personally  avoided  the  duties  of  their  office.  This 
gave  rise  to  action  in  successive  councils,  from  that 
of  Chalcedon,  in  the  fifth  century,  to  that  of  Trent, 
in  the  sixteenth,  against  the  various  forms  of  such 
abuses,  though  unhappily  with  but  little  effect.* 

*The  abuse  referred  to  has,  even  since  the  Reformation,  notwith- 
standing all  efforts  against  it,  continued  to  prevail  in  the  Church  of 
England.  Bishop  Burnet's  denunciations  of  it  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury were  unsparing,  but  comparatively  powerless.  One  of  his  para- 
graphs briefly  sets  forth  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  shows  that  even 
residence  may  be  formal  and  maintained  without  the  discharge  of 
pastoral  duty: 

"For  a  bare  residence  without  laboring  is  but  a  mock  residence, 
since  the  obligation  to  it  is  in  order  to  a  further  end  that  they  may 
'watch  over'  and  'feed  their  flock,'  and  not  enjoy  their  benefices  only 
as  favors  or  as  livings,  according  to  the  gross  but  common  abuse  of  our 
language  by  which  the  names  of  cures,  parishes,  or  benefices,  which  are 
the  ecclesiastical  names,  are  now  swallowed  up  in  that  of  'living,'  which 
carries  a  carnal  idea  in  the  very  sound  of  the  word,  and,  I  doubt,  a 
more  carnal  effect  on  the  minds  of  both  clergy  and  laity." — Pastoral 
Care,  chap.  vi. 


BERNARD.  95 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  in  the  twelfth  century,  de- 
nounces the  ecclesiastics  of  his  times  as  "  heaping  up 
benefices  upon  benefices,  and  restless  till  they  can 
attain  a  bishopric,  and  then  an  archbishopric." 

"Nor,"  said  he,  "does  the  aspirant  stop  here;  he  posts  to 
Rome,  and,  by  supporting  expensive  friendships  and  hicrative 
connections,  he  looks  upward  still  to  the  summit  of  power." 
"  Men  run  every-where  into  sacred  orders,  and  catch  at  an  office 
revered  by  spirits  above,  without  reverence,  without  considera- 
tion ;  in  whom,  perhaps,  would  appear  the  foulest  abominations, 
if  we  were,  according  to  Ezekiel's  prophecy,  to  dig  into  the 
walls,  and  contemplate  the  horrible  things  which  take  place  in 
the  house  of  God." 

Bernard,  also,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  sketches  the 
true  minister  in  these  terms  : 

"  He  who  is  called  to  instruct  souls  is  called  of  God,  and  not 
by  his  own  ambition  ;  and  what  is  this  call  but  an  inward  incen- 
tive of  love,  soliciting  us  to  be  zealous  for  the  salvation  of  our 
brethren." 

A  prominent  characteristic  of  the  great  Reforma- 
tion was  an  endeavor  to  return  to  the  scriptural  idea 
of  the  Christian  ministry.  Not  only  did  the  reform- 
ers reject  the  scheme  of  clerical  priesthood  and  medi- 
ation, as  opposed  to  the  whole  system  of  Christianity, 
but  they  insisted  upon  the  personal  divine  call  of 
every  true  minister. 

Luther  recorded  an  impressive  comment  on  Jere- 
miah xxiii,  21,  32.  "I  have  not  sent  these  prophets, 
yet  they  ran:  I  have  not  spoken  to  them,  yet  they 
prophesied,"  etc.  Making  these  words  an  occasion  to 
address  an  intending  minister,  the  great  reformer  said  : 

"Await  God's  call.  Meantime  be  satisfied.  Yea,  though 
thou  wert  wiser  than  Solomon  and  Daniel,  yet,  unless  thou  art 


96  RETURN   TO    THE  SCRIPTURAL  IDEA. 

called,  avoid  preaching  as  you  would  hell  itself.  If  God  shall 
not  call  you,  let  not  your  knowledge  puff  you  up  ;  for  God  is 
never  dependent  on  the  labor  of  those  who  are  not  called,  and, 
although  they  do  some  good  things,  they  edify  not.  Yet,  every- 
where those  accomplish  great  things  who  teach,  being  truly 
called  of  God." 

Calvin  taught  similar  doctrine,  and,  in  accordance 
with  the  views  of  these  great  men  and  their  asso- 
ciates, the  Protestant  Churches  of  the  continent 
received  the  doctrine  of  a  spiritual  call  as  essential 
to  every  true  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

It  was,  however,  reserved  for  the  reformers  of  the 
Church  of  England  to  put  this  subject  in  its  true 
light  by  inserting  in  the  office  of  ordination  a  solemn 
declaration  on  the  part  of  every  candidate  for  holy 
orders  of  his  personal  conviction  that  he  is  "moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost"  to  take  upon  himself  this  sacred 
ministration.  Beginning  with  the  lowest  order  of  the 
ministry — that  of  deacon — they  required  the  bishop  to 
"examine  every  one  of  those  who  are  to  be  ordered, 
in  the  presence  of  the  people,  after  this  manner  fol- 
lowing: Do  you  trust  that  you  are  inwardly  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon  you  this  office,  to 
serve  God  for  the  promoting  of  his  glory  and  the  edi- 
fying of  his  people  .-*  Answer.  I  trust  so."  Similar 
questions  were  prescribed  for  priests  and  bishops,  and 
Burnet  well  explains  the  motives 'and  excellence  of 
the  action  of  the  British  reformers  in  this  regard  in 
the  following  language: 

"Our  Church  intended  to  raise  the  obligation  of  the  pastoral 
care  higher  than  it  was  before,  and  has  laid  out  this  matter  more 
fully  and  more  strictly  than  any  Church  ever  did  in  any  age,  as 
far,  at  least,  as  my  inquiries  can  carry  me."     "  No  Church  before 


BUR  NETS   TESTIMONY.  97 

ours  at  the  Reformation  took  a  formal  sponsion  at  the  altar  from 
such  as  were  ordained  deacons  and  priests.  That  was,  indeed, 
always  demanded  of  bishops,  but  neither  in  the  Roman  nor 
Greek  pontifical  do  we  find  any  such  solemn  vows  and  promises 
demanded  or  made  by  priests  or  deacons,  nor  does  any  print  of 
this  appear  in  the  constitutions  or  the  ancient  canons  of  the 
Church.  Bishops  were  asked  many  questions,  as  appears  by 
the  first  canon  of  the  fourth  council  of  Carthage.  They  were 
required  to  profess  their  faith  and  to  promise  to  obey  the  canons, 
which  is  still  observed  in  the  Greek  Church.  The  questions  are 
more  express  in  the  Roman  pontifical,  and  the  first  of  these  de- 
mands a  promise  'that  they  will  instruct  their  people  in  Chris- 
tian doctrine  according  to  the  holy  Scriptures,'  which  was  the 
foundation  upon  which  our  bishops  justified  the  Reformation, 
since,  the  first  and  chief  of  all  their  vows  binding  them  to  this, 
it  was  to  take  place  of  all  others,  and  if  any  other  parts  of  those 
sponsions  contradicted  this,  such  as  their  obedience  and  adher- 
ence to  the  see  of  Rome,  they  said  that  these  were  to  be  limited 
by  this." 

"Our  reformers,  observing  all  this,  took  great  care  in  reform- 
ing the  office  of  ordination,  and  they  made  both  the  charge  that 
is  given  and  the  promises  that  are  to  be  taken  to  be  very  express 
and  solemn,  so  that  both  the  ordainers  and  the  ordained  might 
be  rightly  instructed  in  their  duty  and  struck  with  the  awe  and 
dread  that  they  ought  to  be  under  in  so  holy  and  so  important  a 
performance,  .  .  .  yet  to  make  the  sense  of  these  promises 
go  deeper  they  are  ordered  to  be  made  at  the  altar,  and  in  the 
nature  of  a  stipulation  or  covenant." 

"Our  Church,  by  making  our  Savior's  words  the  form  of  ordi- 
nation, must  be  construed  to  intend  by  that  that  it  is  Christ  only 
that  sends,  and  that,  the  bishops  are  only  his  ministers  to  pro- 
nounce his  mission." 

Forcibly,  also,  does  the  good  bishop  comment  on 
the  true  significance  of  the  solemn  affirmation  which 
the  ministerial  candidate  not  only  makes  before  the 
Church,  but  seals  with  the  holy  sacrament: 

"This  is  the  first  step  by  which  a  man  dedicates  himself  to 
the  service  of  God,  and  therefore  it  ought  not  to  be  made  by 
any  that  has  not  this  divine  vocation.     Certainly  the  answer  that 

•.9 


98  MINISTERIAL   VOWS. 

is  made  to  this  ought  to  be  well  considered,  for  if  any  says  'I 
trust  so'  that  yet  knows  nothing  of  any  such  motion  and  can 
give  no  account  of  it,  he  lies  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  makes  his 
first  approach  to  the  altar  with  a  lie  in  his  mouth,  and  that  not 
to  men,  but  to  God."     .     .     . 

"If  a  man  pretends  a  commission  from  a  prince,  or,  indeed, 
from  any  person,  and  acts  in  his  name  upon  it,  the  law  will  fall 
on  him  and  punish  him;  and  shall  the  'great  God  of  heaven  and 
earth'  be  thus  vouched  and  his  motion  be  pretended  to  by  those 
whom  he  has  neither  called  nor  sent?  And  shall  he  not  reckon 
with  those  who  dare  to  run  without  his  mission,  pretending  that 
they  trust  they  have  it,  when  perhaps  they  understand  not  the 
importance  of  it — nay,  and  perhaps  some  laugh  at  it  as  an  enthu- 
siastical  question  who  will  yet  go  through  with  the  office  ?  They 
come  to  Christ  for  the  loaves ;  they  hope  to  live  by  the  altar  and 
the  gospel,  how  little  soever  they  serve  at  the  one  or  preach  the 
other ;  therefore  they  will  say  any  thing  that  is  necessary  for 
qualifying  them  to  this,  whether  true  or  false." 

"The  motives  that  ought  to  determine  a  man  to  dedicate  him- 
self to  ministering  in  the  Church  are  a  zeal  for  promoting  the 
glory  of  God,  for  raising  the  honor  of  the  Christian  religion, 
for  tlie  making  it  to  be  better  understood  and  more  submitted  to. 
He  that  loves  it  and  feels  the  excellency  of  it  in  himself,  that  has 
a  due  sense  of  God's  goodness  in  it  to  mankind,  and  that  is  en- 
tirely possessed  with  that,  will  feel  a  zeal  within  himself  for  com- 
municating that  to  others,  that  so  'the  only  true  God  and  Jesus 
Christ  whom  he  has  sent'  may  be  more  universally  glorified  and 
served  by  his  creatures.  And  when  to  this  he  has  added  a  con- 
cern for  the  souls  of  men,  a  tenderness  for  them,  a  zeal  to  rescue 
them  from  endless  misery,  and  a  desire  to  put  them  in  the  way 
to  everlasting  happiness,  and  from  these  motives  feels  in  himself 
a  desire  to  dedicate  his  life  and  labors  to  those  ends,  and  in  order 
to  them  studies  to  understand  the  Scriptures,  and  more  particu- 
larly the  New  Testament,  that  from  thence  he  may  form  a  true 
notion  of  this  holy  religion,  and  so  be  an  able  minister  of  it — 
this  man,  and  only  this  man  so  moved  and  so  qualified,  can  in 
truth  and  with  a  good  conscience  answer  'that  he  trusts  he  is 
inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,'  and  every  one  that  ventures 
on  the  saying  without  this  is  a  sacrilegious  profaner  of  the  name 
of  God  and  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  He  breaks  in  upon  his  Church, 
not  to  feed  it,  but  to  rob  it,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  who  begins 


SAD  DEPARTURES.  99 

with  a  lie  may  be  sent  by  the  father  of  lies,  but  he  can  not  be 
thought  to  enter  in  by  the  door  who  prevaricates  in  the  first 
word  that  he  says  in  order  to  his  admittance." 

Happy  would  it  have  been  for  the  Church  of  En- 
gland, and  fortunate  for  the  world,  had  good  Bishop 
Burnet's  admonitions,  in  reference  to  this  important 
subject,  been  heeded  by  all  who  have  taken  holy 
orders  under  the  form  of  the  English  ritual.  But, 
alas,  the  tendency  to  formalism  and  secularity  has 
never  ceased  to  manifest  itself  in  that  as  well  as  other 
Churches,  especially  those  in  which  ministers  of  vari- 
ous grades  are  dependent  on  funded  endowments  and 
politicah  patronage.  Indeed,  Bishop  Burnet  closes  the 
"  History  of  his  own  times "  with  several  melancholy 
reflections,  which,  addressed  in  kind  and  affecting 
terms  to  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  prove 
that  the  best  of  forms  were  of  themselves  insufficient 
to  maintain  a  true  spiritual  character  in  the  ministry. 
He  says  : 

"  I  have  lamented,  during  my  whole  life,  that  I  saw  so  little 
true  zeal  among  our  clergy."  "  I  must  own  that  the  main  body 
of  our  clergy  has  always  appeared  dead  and  lifeless  to  me,  and, 
instead  of  animating  one  another,  they  seem  rather  to  lay  one 
another  asleep." 

"  Ordination  weeks  were  always  dreadful  things  to  me  when 
I  remembered  those  words,  '  lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man  ;  be 
not  partaker  of  other  men's  sins  ;  keep  thyself  pure.'  It  is  true, 
those  who  came  to  me  wer6  generally  well  prepared  as  to  their 
studies,  and  they  brought  testimonials  and  titles,  which  is  all 
that,  in  our  present  constitution,  can  be  demanded.  .  .  .  But 
my  principal  care  was  to  awaken  their  consciences  to  make  them 
consider  whether  they  had  a  motion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  calling 
them  to  the  function,  and  to  make  them  apprehend  what  belonged 
both  to  a  spiritual  life  and  to  the  pastoral  care.  On  these  sub- 
jects I  spoke  much  and  often  to  every  one  of  them  apart,  and 


lOO  CLERICAL  DEGENERACY. 

sometimes  to  them  all  together,  besides  the  public  examination 
of  them  with  my  chapter.  This  was  all  that  I  could  do.  But, 
alas,  how  defective  is  this  !  and  it  is  too  well  known  how  easy 
the  clergy  are  in  signing  testimonials."  "  I  do  not  enter  into 
the  scandalous  practices  of  non-residence  and  pluralities  which 
are  sheltered  by  so  many  colors  of  law  among  us  ;  whereas,  the 
Church  of  Rome,  from  whence  we  had  those  and  many  other 
abuses,  has  freed  herself  from  this  under  which  we  still  labor, 
to  our  great  and  just  reproach.  This  is  so  shameful  a  profana- 
tion of  holy  things  that  it  ought  to  be  treated  with  detestation 
and  horror.  Do  such  men  think  on  the  vows  they  made  on 
their  ordination,  on  the  rules  in  the  Scriptures,  or  on  the  nature 
of  their  function,  or  that  it  is  a  care  of  souls  V 

Two  generations  later,  the  condition  of  things  in 
the  same  Church  was  described  by  Fletcher  of 
Madeley,  in  the  following  terms : 

"The  minister  of  the  present  age  is  not  ordinarily  called  to 
the  holy  ministry  except  by  carnal  motives,  such  as  his  own 
vanity  or  his  peculiar  taste  for  a  tranquil  and  indolent  life.  Per- 
haps his  vocation  to  the  ministry  is  principally  from  his  father 
and  mother,  who  have  determined  that  their  son  shall  enter  into 
holy  orders.  Very  frequently,  if  the  candidate  for  holy  orders 
had  sincerity  enough  to  discover  the  real  inclination  of  his  heart, 
he  might  make  his  submissions  to  the  dignitaries  of  our  Church 
and  say,  '  Put  me,  I  pray  you,  into  one  of  the  priests'  offices, 
that  I  may  eat  a  piece  of  bread.'     i  Sam.  ii,  36." 

Still  later,  Legh  Richmond,  who,  as  a  clergyman 
of  the  Church  of  England,  had  occasion  to  know 
whereof  he  affirmed,  uttered  a  similar  lament.  "  The 
national  Church,"  said  he,  "  groans  and  bleeds,  from 
the  crown  of  its  head  to  the  sole  of  its  feet,  from  the 
daily  intrusion  of  unworthy  men  into  the  ministry." — 
Life,  p.  475. 

The  discerning  reader  will  perceive  that  the  grand 
lack  indicated  by  the  above  extracts  was  that  of  per- 
sonal' religious  experience,  and  it  was  only  a  natural 


THE  WESLEYAN  REVIVAL.  lOI 

and  certain  sequence  that  the  fruits  of  a  ministry  thus 
deficient  should  appear  in  a  deplorably  low  state  of 
piety  throughout  the  Church  and  nation.  Of  that 
state  of  things  the  records  of  the  times  give  many 
sad  proofs.  Witness  the  statement  of  an  English 
writer  in  reference  to  the  religious  condition  of  Great 
Britain  preceding  the  Wesleyan  reformation  : 

"  The  great  body  of  the  clergy  neither  knew  nor  cared  about 
systems  of  any  kind,  and  in  a  vast  number  of  instances  they 
were  immoral — often  grossly  so.  The  populace  in  the  large 
towns  were  ignorant  and  profligate  ;  the  inhabitants  of  villages 
added  to  ignorance  and  profligacy  brutish  and  barbarous  man- 
ners. A  more  striking  instance  of  the  rapid  decay  of  religious 
light  and  influence  in  a  country  scarcely  occurs  than  in  ours, 
from  the  Restoration  till  the  rise  of  Methodism.  It  affected  not 
only  the  Church,  but  the  dissenting  sects,  in  no  ordinary  degree. 
The  Presbyterians  had  commenced  their  downward  course 
through  Arianism  to  Socinianism;  and  those  who  held  the  doc- 
trines of  Calvin,  had,  in  too  many  instances,  fallen  into  the  fatal 
errors  of  Antinomianism.  There  were  exceptions,  but  this  was 
the  general  state  of  religion  and  morals  in  the  country  when  the 
Wesleys,  Whitefield,  and  a  few  kindred  spirits,  went  forth  to 
sacrifice  ease,  reputation,  and  even  life  itself,  if  necessary,  to 
produce  a  reformation,"* 

In  the  great  revival  which  followed  the  labors  of 
these  devoted  men,  deserved  prominence  was  given 
to  the  doctrine  of  a  personal  and  divine  call  to  the 
ministry,  and  a  series  of  events  occurred  which  served 
to  place  the  subject  in  a  strong  light  before  the 
Churches,  both  of  England  and  America.  The  Wes- 
leys, even  after  their  conscious  experience  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  and  after  they  had  been  thrust  out  as  it 
were  into  the  highways  and  hedges,  still  held,  with 
considerable  firmness,  the  notions  of  Church  order 

*  Moore's  Life  of  Wesley. 


1 02  LAY  PRE  A  CHING. 

in  which  they  had  been  educated.  They  could  per- 
ceive the  importance  of  lay  co-operation,  in  various 
ways,  for  promoting  the  work  of  the  Lord  ;  but  the 
idea  that  any  but  authorized  clergymen  could  appro- 
priately preach  the  gospel  had  to  be  taught  them  by 
particular  providences,  or  the  logic  of  events.  Never- 
theless, by  that  impressive  mode  of  teaching,  John 
Wesley  especially  was  enabled  to  see  the  subject  of 
the  ministerial  call  in  that  clear  practical  light  in 
which  he  afterward  acted  in  forming  plans  and  di- 
recting measures  which,  under  the  divine  blessing, 
have  produced  such  happy  and  far-reaching  results 
ever  since. 

The  event  which  first  enlarged  his  views  on  this 
subject  is  thus  narrated  by  Stevens : 

'•  Hitherto  Wesley's  lay  'helpers'  had  been  but  exhorters  and 
readers,  and  'expounders'  of  the  Scriptures;  but  May  preach- 
ing' was  now  formally  begun.  Thomas  Maxfield,  occupying  the 
desk  of  the  Foundery,  in  Wesley's  absence,  had  been  led  to  devi- 
ate from  these  restrictions.  Wesley  received  a  letter  at  Bristol 
informing  him  of  the  fact.  His  prejudices  for  '  Church  order' 
were  still  strong,  and  he  hastened  to  London,  with  no  little 
alarm,  to  check  the  new  irregularity.  His  mother  was  still  at 
hand,  however,  to  guide  him.  Retired  in  the  parsonage  of  the 
Foundery,  lingering  at  the  verge  of  the  grave,  and  watching  unto 
prayer  over  the  marvelous  developments  which  were  occurring 
in  the  religious  world  around  her,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  her  family,  she  read  the  indications  of  the  times  with  a  wiser 
sagacity  than  her  son,  and  was  now  to  accomplish  her  last  con- 
trolling agency  in  the  Methodist  movement,  and  to  introduce  an 
innovation  by  which,  more  than  any  other  fact  in  its  ministerial 
economy,  it  has  been  sustained  and  extended  in  the  world.  She 
perceived,  on  his  arrival,  that  his  countenance  expressed  dissat- 
isfaction and  anxiety,  and  inquired  the  cause.  'Thomas  Max- 
field,'  he  replied  with  unusual  abruptness,  'has  turned  preacher, 
I  find.'     She  reminded  him  of  her  own  sentiments  against  lay 


A  NEW  INSTAURATION. 


103 


preaching,  and  that  he  could  not  suspect  her  of  favoring  any 
thing  of  the  kind.  '  But  take  care,'  she  added,  <  what  you  do  re- 
specting that  young  man  ;  he  is  as  surely  called  of  God  to 
preach  as  you  are.'  She  counseled  him  to  examine  what  had 
been  the  fruits  of  Maxfield's  preaching,  and  to  hear  him  also 
himself.  He  heard  him  :  'it  is  the  Lord,  let  him  do  what  seem- 
eth  to  him  good,'  was  all  he  could  further  say,  and  Thomas 
Maxfield  became  the  first  of  that  host  of  itinerant  lay  preachers 
which  has  since  carried  the  standard  of  the  gospel  more  tri- 
umphantly over  the  world  than  any  other  class  of  the  modern 
Christian  ministry." 

The  good  accomplished  by  the  system  of  measures 
thus  providentially  introduced  was  by  no  means  lim- 
ited to  thesocieties  or  Churches  that,  have  been  known 
as  Wesleyan.  Indeed,  it  was  no  part  of  Wesley's 
original  intention  to  form  any  such  associations,  and 
when,  in  the  course  of  events,  they  seemed  to  be  dic- 
tated to  him  as  a  providential  necessity,  he  neither 
separated  from  the  Church  of  England,  nor  circum- 
scribed his  broad  catholicity  toward  other  Churches. 
Through  life  he  regarded  the  world  as  his  parish,  and 
all  men  as  his  brethren.  Whitefield  also  threw  him- 
self into  the  broadest  possible  arena  of  Christian 
effort.  He  entered  every  open  door  of  usefulness, 
and  again  and  again  made  the  circuit  both  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  visiting  and  arousing 
the  Churches  of  every  name  and  phase  of  theological 
belief  Every-where  he  seized  opportunities  to  arouse 
ministers  as  well  as  people.  One  of  his  favorite  dis- 
courses was  "  on  the  duty  of  a  gospel  minister,"  m 
which  he  maintained,  as  his  first  proposition,  that 
"  every  minister,  before  he  undertakes  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  from  a  full  evidence 
of  a  work  of  conversion,  ought  to  be  enabled  to  say, 


1 04  HAPPY  RESUL  TS. 

"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel."  By  such  agencies 
and  efforts  the  animus  of  that  great  reUgious  awaken- 
ing became  contagious,  and  the  leading  views  and 
measures  by  which  it  was  promoted  came  to  be,  in  no 
small  degree,  the  common  property  of  evangelical  de- 
nominations throughout  the  Protestant  world. 

From  this  or  whatever  cause,  it  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say  that  during  the  last  hundred  years  a  higher 
and  more  spiritual  conception  of  the  ministerial  call 
has  prevailed  in  the  more  active  branches  of  the 
Christian  Church  than  at  any  former  period  since 
the  days  of  the  apostles.  To  this  very  fact  may  be 
attributed  the  more  rapid  spread  of  Christian  truth, 
the  wider  diffusion  of  missionary  zeal  and  effort,  the 
more  general  prevalence  of  revivals,  and  more  en- 
couraging prospects  for  the  conversion  of  the  whole 
world  to  God.  Thus  we  have  a  practical  comment 
upon  an  important  phase  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  a  historical  illustration  of  the  excellence  of 
the  Savior's  plan  of  sending  forth  laborers  into  his 
harvest  in  answer  to  the  prayers  and  in  conformity 
with  the  co-operation  of  his  Church.  Such  results 
are  in  striking  contrast  with  the  practical  apostasy  of 
the  Church  and  its  fearful  degradation  during  periods 
and  in  regions  where  that  plan  was  ignored  or  set  at 
naught. 


SCRIPTURAL  FACTS.  105 


CHAPTER   III. 

TH£  MINISTERIAL  CALL— PRACTICAL  VIEW. 

THE  subject  of  the  ministerial  call  will  now  be 
treated  in  the  light  of  facts  and  arguments 
already  developed.  Henceforth  it  will  be  assumed 
that  the  Christian  ministry  is  not  a  priesthood,  but 
a  service,  of  which  the  preaching  of  the  The  ministry  a 
gospel  and  the  pastoral  office  are  the  ^^::Xs 
leading  functions ;  that  to  this  ministry  ^  ^^o{o\^  caii. 
it  is  the  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  call  all  who  are 
needed  in  the  public  service  of  the  Christian  sanctu- 
ary, and  also  that  it  is  a  function  of  the  Church  not 
only  to  pray  that  such  calls  may  be  given,  but  to 
authenticate  them  when  given,  as  a  means  of  pro- 
moting both  the  order  and  efficiency  of  the  work  of 
the  Lord. 

Clearly  and  strongly  do  the  New  Testament  Script- 
ures corroborate  this  view  of  the  Christian  ministry. 
The  Savior  publicly  authenticated  his  own  scriptural  ex- 
divine  mission  by  reading  that  prophecy  ^"^p^^^- 
of  Isaiah  which  ages  before  had  announced  his  advent 
in  terms  that  not  only  heralded  the  new  dispensation, 
but  graphically  portrayed  its  character.  "The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor,     ...     to  preach 


I06  PAUUS  CONVICTIONS, 

the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord."  Luke  iv,  16-22 
Subsequently  he  represented  himself  as  specially 
sent  of  the  Father,  and  said  to  his  disciples,  "As  my 
Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you."  "As 
thou  hast  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so  have  I 
also  sent  them  into  the  world,"  .  .  .  "that  the 
world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."*  In 
his  instructions  to  his  disciples  he  said :  "  Whoso- 
ever will  be  great  among  you  shall  be  your  minis- 
ter, and  whosoever  of  you  will  be  the  chiefest  shall 
be  servant  of  all.  For  even  the  Son  of  man  came 
not  to  be  ministered   unto,  but  to  minister."     Mark 

X,  43-45. 

The  apostles  acted  upon  these  instructions.  Soon 
after  the  Pentecost  "the  twelve  called  the  multitude 
of  the  disciples  unto  them  and  said,  .  .  .  We  will 
give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer  and  the  ministry 
of  the  word."  Acts  vi,  2-4.  "Therefore,  seeing  we 
have  this  ministry,  as  we  have  received  mercy,  we 
faint  not.  For  we  preach  not  ourselves,  but  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord,  and  ourselves  your  servants  for 
Jesus'  sake."  2  Cor.  iv,  15.  "All  things  are  of 
God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus 
Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation." V,  18.  "We  then,  as  workers  together 
with  him,  beseech  you  also  that  ye  receive  not  the 
grace  of  God  in  vain,  giving  no  offense 

Apostolic  view.       .  .     . 

m  any  thmg,  that  the  mmistry  be  not 
blamed,  but  in  all  things  approving  ourselves  as  the 
ministers  of  God."  2  Cor.  vi,  i,  3,  4.  "I  thank 
Christ  Jesus   our  Lord,  who   hath   enabled   me,  for 

*See  John  vii,  28;  viii,  26,  29,  42;  xvii,  18-23;  xx,  21. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE   SUBJECT,  10/ 

that  he  counted  me  faithful,  putting  me  into  the 
ministry."  i  Tim.  i,  12.  "None  of  these  things 
move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself, 
so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the 
ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."     Acts  xx,  24. 

What  language  could  be  more  conclusive  than  this 
of  the  proper  character  of  the  Christian  ministry! 
From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  their  career  the 
apostles  understood  themselves  to  be,  not  priests  or 
mediators,  but  the  servants  of  God  and  of  their  breth- 
ren, nevertheless  divinely  commissioned  to  preach 
the  gospel  and  to  maintain  a  self-sacrificing  over- 
sight of  the  Churches.  Such  has  been  and  ever  will 
be  the  appointment  and  work  of  every  true  minister 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

At  this  point  certain  practical  questions  of  great 
moment  arise,  i.  In  what  manner  does  Appropriate 
God  call  his  ministers }  2.  How  may  an  '"q""'^^- 
individual  certainly  know  that  he  is  called  of  God  to 
the  ministry.?  3.  By  what  signs  may  the  Church  be 
satisfied  of  the  divine  call  of  a  ministerial  candidate? 
These  questions  deserve  thoughtful  consideration. 

I.  In  reference  to  the  manner  in  which  God  calls 
his  ministers,  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  the  in- 
finitude of  the  divine  resources.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
not  limited  in  his  modes  of  action.  "  There  are  diver- 
sities of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit.  And  there  are 
differences  of  administrations,  but  the  same  Lord. 
And  there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is  the 
same  God  which  worketh  all  in  all."  i  Cor.  xii,  6-9. 
Hence   we   must   carefully  avoid   all   theories  which 


I08  VARIETY  IN  UNITY, 

would  mar  just  conceptions  of  the  divine  freedom 
or  seem  to  confine  the  Spirit's  action  to  any  given 
form  or  routine. 

We  find  infinite  variety  in  the  products  and  pro- 
cesses of  the  material  creation.  The  world  of  mind 
Diversity  of  IS  cqually  diversified.  Even  Christian  ex- 
modes.  pcricnce  is  varied.    Among  all  the  millions 

of  those  who  have  passed  through  the  strait  gate  of 
repentance  into  the  joy  of  saving  faith,  however  great 
the  general  features  of  resemblance,  the  spiritual  exer- 
}'  cises  of  no  two  individuals  have  been  precisely  alike. 
Ought  it  not,  therefore,  to  be  expected  that  in  the 
manifestations  of  the  Spirit  given  to  different  men 
there  will  also  be  "diversities  of  operations.'*"  Such 
certainly  there  have  been  in  the  history  of  the  past. 
Take  the  case  of  the  apostles  of  our  Lord.  Peter, 
Andrew,  James,  and  John  were  called  to  be  "fishers 
of  men"  at  the  very  moment  they  were  invited  to  be 
followers  of  Jesus,  consequently  before  their  conver- 
sion. Matthew  iv,  18-21.  Of  the  remainder  of  the 
twelve,  we  may  infer  that  they  had  already  chosen  to 
become  our  Lord's  disciples,  and  had  become,  under 
his  instructions,  somewhat  matured  in  Christian  prin- 
ciple and  purpose  before  he  made  known  to  them 
his  will  as  to  their  public  duty.  The  sacred  record 
touching  this  point  is  brief  but  significant :  "And  he 
goeth  up  into  a  mountain,  and  calleth  unto  him  whom 
he  would,  and  they  came  unto  him.  And  he  ordained 
twelve,  that  they  should  be  with  him,  'and  that  he 
might  send  them  forth  to  preach."  Mark  iii,  13,  14. 
"And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days  that  he  went  out 
into  a  mountain  to  pray,  and  continued  all  night  in 


EXPERIENCES  MUL  TIFORM.  1 09 

prayer  to  God.  And  when  it  was  day  he  called  unto 
him  his  disciples,  and  of  them  he  chose  twelve,  whom 
also  he  named  apostles."  Luke  vi,  12,  13.  The  call 
of  Matthias  through  the  suffrage  of  the  Church,  and 
that  of  Paul,  communicated  to  him,  immediately  after 
his  miraculous  awakening,  by  the  voice  of  Ananias, 
form  additional  illustrations  of  the  various  modes  by 
which,  in  apostolic  times,  the  divine  Spirit  accom- 
plished similar  ends.  So  in  modern  times  experi- 
ences in  reference  to  the  ministerial  call  differ  widely. 
A  comparison  of  the  mental  exercises  by  which  a 
thousand  different  ministers  of  any  given  Modem  expe- 
period  have  reached  the  common  result  '^'^"'=^^- 
of  a  devout  persuasion  that  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon  themselves  the  sacred 
office,  while  it  might  suggest  a  classification  of  experi- 
ences, would  hardly  discover  any  absolute  identity. 
It  would  be  found  that  some  received  distinct 
impressions  of  this  duty  in  early  childhood,  which 
grew  with  their  growth  and  strengthened  with  their 
strength.  Others  who  received  similar  impressions 
sought  to  reject  them,  and  by  a  course  of  sin  grieved 
the  Holy  Spirit.  They  put  in  jeopardy  their  souls' 
salvation  while  endeavoring,  Jonah-like,  to  escape  from 
duty;  nevertheless  the  Spirit  strove  with  them,  and 
before  it  was  wholly  too  late  they  yielded  to  his 
call.  Some  had  distinct  impressions  of  this  duty 
before  their  conversion,  and  some  even  for  a  long 
period  refused  to  seek  God  in  their  unwillingness 
to  acknowledge  his  claims  upon  them  to  preach  the 
gospel.  On  some  minds  the  conviction  of  ministe- 
rial duty  flashed  with  the  suddenness  of  a  startling 


no  DIVINE  PREROGATIVE, 

revelation.  To  others  it  came  almost  imperceptibly, 
like  the  gradual  dawning  of  the  day.  Still  others 
have  received  the  divine  call  in  the  same  voice  which 
uttered  their  pardon.  To  some  it  has  been  made 
known  in  silence  and  solitude,  to  others  in  the  midst 
of  public  assemblies  and  under  the  ministration  of 
the  preached  word.  While  some  have  received  the 
sacred  call  without  the  intervention  of  man,  to  many 
others  it  has  been  brought  with  the  voice  or  by  the 
agency  of  Christian  friendship.  Some  have  reached 
their  profoundest  convictions  by  a  species  of  relig- 
ious instinct,  others  by  slow  processes  of  reasoning, 
and  by  a  careful  comparison  of  conflicting  claims 
and  impulses. 

While  it  may  not  be  allotted  to  individuals  to  choose 
the  methods  by  which  it  may  please  God  to  lead  them 
into  the  pathway  of  ministerial  duty,  it  is  supremely 
important  that  every  one  be  enabled  to  discern  and 
rightly  interpret  indications  of  the  divine  will  in  what- 
ever form  they  may  be  vouchsafed.  As  it  is  the  pre- 
rogative of  the  Head  of  the  Church  to  call  and  send 
forth  the  laborers  into  the  harvest  field  of  the  world, 
so  it  is  the  province  and  responsibility  of  individual 
Christians  to  consider  and  determine  the  question  of 
duty  for  themselves.  No  one,  however,  is  at  liberty 
to  demand  miraculous  or  compulsory  evidence. 

The  evidences  required  to  substantiate  a  ministerial 
call  may  be  expected  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  anal- 
ogies of  Christian  experience,  and  consequently  not 
only  to  be  various  in  the  history  of  different  persons, 
but  to  have  different  stages  of  development  in  the 
case  of  each  individual.     A  discriminating  analysis  of 


PROPER  EVIDENCES.  Ill 

the  experience  of  persons  truly  called  to  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel  will  usually  indicate  periods  like  the  fol- 
lowing: I.  That  of  awakening  and  inquiry.  2.  That 
of  conviction,  more  or  less  clear.  3.  That  of  settled 
purpose  and  determined  action. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  no  person,  in  the  first 
stage   of  this   experience,   should  demand 

*=*  .  Different 

the  same  evidences  that  may  be  accorded  stages  of 
to  him  in  the  third.  By  overlooking  this 
principle,  some  have  made  serious  mistakes.  Like 
sinners  who  refuse  the  persuasions  of  truth  and  the 
convictions  of  judgment,  and  remain  unwilling  to  yield 
to  the  divine  claims  unless  overwhelmed  with  terror, 
so  some  make  excuses  against  ministerial  duty  unless, 
from  the  first,  they  feel  like  Paul,  in  the  maturity  of 
his  apostolic  career,  "  Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the 
gospel." 

Christian  young  men,  about  to  form  their  plans  for 
life,  should  be  careful  not  to  err  at  this  point  and  re- 
ject the  claims  of  Christ  and  his  cause  upon  them 
because  those  claims  are  not  at  once  and  imperatively 
asserted.  They  should  be  aware  that  upon  themselves 
devolves  the  duty  of  consideration  and  decision,  and 
upon  them  will  fall  the  consequences  of  mistake. 
Nothing,  therefore,  can  be  more  appropriate  than  for 
them  to  inquire,  in  the  language  and  spirit  of  the 
awakened  Saul  of  Tarsus,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ?"  This  question,  and  nothing  less  than  this, 
covers  the  whole  ground.  But  it  is  of  too  solemn  im- 
port to  be  determined  hastily,  or  without  a  full  con- 
sideration of  whatever  might  legitimately  tend  to  its 
solution.     Prior  to  reaching  its  deepest  merits,  most 


1 1 2  POSSIBLE  INC  UNA  T/ONS, 

minds  will  encounter  some  inquiries  that  are  in  their 
nature  preliminary  and  incidental,  although  they  have 
often  been  magnified  unduly,  and  treated  as  of  ulti- 
Minorques-  mate  importance.  Such  are  questions  of 
tions.  taste,  of  predisposition,  of  comparative  use- 

fulness, of  the  wants  of  the  Church  or  of  mission 
fields.  While  an  affirmative  view  of  these  and  simi- 
lar questions  might  corroborate  a  higher  persuasion 
of  duty,  yet  a  negative  view  of  them  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  contravene  it.  For  instance,  if  one's 
natural  tastes  should  harmonize  with  the  duties  of 
ministerial  life,  he  might  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of 
congenial  occupation,  and  pray  that  his  very  pleasures 
might  be  sanctified  to  the  glory  of  God  in  the  divine 
service.  If,  however,  his  natural  tastes  should  incline 
him  in  quite  another  direction,  that  would  not  be  a 
sufficient  reason  for  resisting  a  manifest  call  of  duty, 
in  the  discharge  of  which  his  primary  inclinations 
might  be  wholly  changed,  and  his  tastes  made  to  con- 
form with  the  controlling  purpose  of  his  life.  In  the 
one  case,  grace  might  be  expected  to  subsidize  nature ; 
in  the  other,  to  transform  and  renew  it. 

Respecting  other  questions  of  this  class,  somewhat 
different  remarks  may  be  made.  In  reference  to  the 
idea  of  usefulness,  it  may  be  accepted  as  a  general 
principle,  that  every  Christian  should  pursue  that 
course  of  life  which  promises  most  for  the  good 
of  men  and  the  glory  of  God.  Nevertheless,  one's 
usefulness  in  life  often  depends  so  much  on  circum- 
stances over  which  he  has  no  control,  and  on  contin- 
gencies which  he  can  not  definitely  foresee,  that  it  is 
only  safe  to  commit  his  ways  to  the  Lord  and  trust 


PERSONAL  DUTY.  II3 

to  the  divine  guidance  to  bring  the  best  results  to 
pass,  rather  than  to  interpose  personal  inclinations  or 
hasty  inductions  as  to  that  which  he  can  not  prede- 
termine. The  wants  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world 
for  faithful  ministers  and  missionaries  may  be,  as  it 
usually  is,  intensely  urgent ;  but  that  fact  of  itself  does 
not  prove  that  any  or  every  individual  is  called  to  the 
peculiar  work  of  the  ministry.  In  all  circumstances, 
the  great  majority  of  pious  persons  are  not  called  to 
that  work,  as  may  be  seen  in  all  Churches.  Never- 
theless, when  a  deep  sense  of  the  wants  of  the  world 
presses  like  a  burden  on  the  soul  of  a  believer, 
accompanied  with  a  strong  anxiety  to  relieve  those 
wants,  such  feelings  may  justly  be  regarded  as  pre- 
paratory to  more  specific  indications  of  the  divine 
will  to  be  manifested  in  due  time. 

While,  therefore,  preliminaries  may  be  allowed  their 
just  weight,  yet  the  great  central  question    The  great  cen- 
of    personal    duty   must    be    regarded    as    t""^!  question. 
mainly  an  issue  between  the  inquirer  and  his  Maker. 
The  chief  anxiety,  then,  should  be  to  know  the  will 
of  God,  as  superior  to  all  other  considerations.    While 
it  need  not  be  doubted  that  God  has  a  specific  work 
for  every  one  of  his  servants  to  do,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  his  modes  of  making  known  that  will 
are  various,  and  act  somewhat  difierently  upon  differ- 
ent minds.      The  more  usual    modes   by    Modes  of  its 
which  the  divine  will  is  indicated  in  calling    s°^^t>°"- 
ministers  to  preach  the  gospel  are  the  following : 

1.  The  direct  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

2.  The  corroborative  action  of  one's  own  judgment. 
-    3.  Providential  guidance. 

10 


114  ^^^  SPIRIT'S  CALL, 

4.  The  coincident  action  of  the  Church. 

5.  A  harmonious  concurrence  of  legitimate  reasons. 
I.   The  direct  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit,     So  long 

as  the  apostolic  inquiry,  "  How  shall  they  preach 
except  they  be  sent  ?"  has  force,  it  will  be  a  pri- 
mary anxiety  on  the  part  of  every  well-instructed 
inquirer,  in  reference  to  ministerial  duty,  to  know 
"the  mind  of  the  Spirit"  in  relation  to  himself  per- 
sonally. Those  who  believe  that  nothing  is  made 
without  a  purpose,  can  never  doubt  that  the  great 
Designer  of  the  universe  has  a  will  with  reference  to 
each  one  of  his  creatures.  The  fact  that  the  great 
majority  of  human  beings,  and  even  of  sincere  Chris- 
tians, are  left  to  determine  inferentially  God's  will,  as 
to  their  proper  course  of  life,  is  no  bar  to  the  proba- 
bility that,  in  a  work  designed  to  be  controlled  by  the 
divine  prerogative,  special  manifestations  should  be 
made  to  those  whom  the  Head  of  the  Church  would 
send  forth  into  his  vineyard.  Indeed,  such  manifes- 
tations are  not  only  to  be  considered  probable,  but 
necessary,  to  a  spiritual  ministry.  Yet,  as  the  human 
mind  can  only  comprehend  the  fact  and  not  the  mode 
of  the  Spirit's  action,  the  best  of  men  are  not  free 
from  the  possibility  of  misapprehension  in  reference 
to  this  important  subject.  While  it  would  be  wrong 
to  suppose  that  the  Spirit  acts  upon  all  persons  in 
precisely  the  same  manner,  it  would  be  equally  erro- 
The  divine  im-  ucous  to  imagine  that,  in  any  case,  the 
not^compui-'^"*  divlue  impulsc  is  compulsory,  or  so  far 
^o'T^-  controlling  as  to  relieve  the  subject  from 

the  full  exercise  of  his  volition  in  reference  to  the 
duty   indicated.      On  this   and  various  other  points 


DR.    O LIN'S   VIEWS.  II5 

involved  in  the  subject,  the  late  Doctor  Olin  has 
written  so  well  that  no  apology  will  be  made  for  in- 
troducing several  paragraphs  from  his  essay  on  a  call 
to  the  ministry.* 

"A  call  to  the  ministry  may  be  defined  to  be  a  persuasion 
wrought  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  mind  of  an  individual  that  it 
is  his  duty  lo  become  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  It  is  recognized 
by  the  subject  of  it,  simply  as  a  conviction  of  dnty,  which,  how- 
ever, is  properly  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  divine  agent 
which  produces  all  pious  emotions  and  purposes.  This  impres- 
sion varies  greatly  in  clearness  and  intensity  in  different  indi- 
viduals, and  in  the  same  individual  at  different  times.  At  first 
it  may  be  perceived  only  in  the  form  of  a  casual  suggestion,  a 
transient  desire,  or  a  mere  inquiry  awakened  in  the  mind  by 
reflection,  reading,  conversation,  or  other  ordinary  means  ;  and 
it  is  commonly  developed  and  matured  by  prayer,  by  self-exam- 
ination, by  perusing  the  Scriptures,  by  hearing  the  gospel,  by 
pious  conference,  by  meditating  upon  the  wants  of  the  Church 
and  of  the  world — in  a  word,  by  all  those  means  which  deepen 
piety  and  make  more  fervent  our  love  to  Christ.  The  progress 
of  the  mind,  from  first  impressions  to  a  thorough  and  abiding 
conviction,  is  sometimes  slow,  and  may  possibly  be  the  work  of 
years.  It  is  commonly  found,  however,  that  the  views  of  one 
who  ultimately  attains  to  clear  evidence  of  his  call  to  the  min- 
istry, become  clear  and  settled  with  a  rapidity  proportioned  to 
his  growth  in  grace  and  habitual  fidelity  to  the  Redeemer's 
cause.  The  distressing  and  protracted  doubts  with  regard  to 
the  subject,  which  oppress  so  many  minds,  may  commonly  be 
traced  to  superficial  piety,  to  worldly  feeling,  and  an  unwilling- 
ness to  engage  in  a  work  so  abhorrent  to  sloth,  ambition,  and 
selfishness.  A  few  individuals  who  are  doomed  to  struggle  with 
morbid  peculiarities  of  mind  or  body,  or  with  the  prejudices  of 
a  vicious  education,  may  be  long  in  attaining  to  a  satisfactory 
evidence  with  regard  to  the  path  of  duty ;  but  in  most,  perhaps 
in  all  other  cases,  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  humble,  the 
obedient,  and  the  teachable  will  soon  be  relieved  from  all  painful 
uncertainty. 

The  feebleness  and  indistinctness  of  first  impressions  should 

*  Works,  Vol.  II,  p.  254.     Also  Tract  No.  187,  M.  E.  Church. 


Il6  DANGER   OF  INDIFFERENCE, 

not  be  taken  as  an  argument  against  their  genuineness.  On  the 
contrary,  it  seems  to  be  most  consistent  with  the  whole  economy 
of  the  gospel,  that  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  should,  at  first, 
be  only  sufficient  to  awaken  the  attention  and  to  excite  the  mind 
to  a  course  of  inquiry  and  self-examination,  and  that  it  should 
shine  upon  us  in  a  clearer  light  in  answer  to  our  prayers  and  in 
aid  of  our  humble  endeavors  to  ascertain  and  perform  our  duty. 
Every  part  of  the  gospel  economy  is  conformed  to  the  condition 
of  man  in  a  state  of  probation,  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
the  Holy  Spirit  ever  exerts  an  influence  upon  the  human  mind 
beyond  its  power  of  prompt  and  easy  resistance.  But  without 
stopping  to  inquire  whether  there  are  any  exceptions  to  the 
great  law  by  which  the  divine  agent  is  pleased  to  regulate  his 
own  operations,  we  may  rest  assured  that,  in  calling  to  the  min- 
istry, as  well  as  in  his  other  offices,  '  a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit 
is  given  to  profit  withal ;'  that  '  to  him  that  hath,  more  shall  be 
given  ;'  and  that  they  who  are  graciously  visited  by  this  divine 
light  may,  at  their  option,  follow  or  extinguish  it.  There  is  a 
palpable  and  perilous  mistake  on  this  subject,  which  prevails 
very  extensively  in  the  Church.  Many  young  men,  who  have 
been  led  to  think  it  their  duty  to  devote  themselves  to  the  min- 
istry, give  no  heed  to  this  impression,  under  a  vain  belief  that, 
if  the  call  be  genuine,  it  will  become  more  loud  and  importunate 
for  being  neglected.  They  imagine,  I  know  not  upon  what 
ground,  that  this  work  of  the  Spirit  differs  essentially  from  all 
its  other  operations,  and  they  seem  to  demand  that  its  influence 
shall  be  irresistible  before  they  will  cease  to  resist  it.  The  prac- 
tical effects  of  this  pernicious  error  are  often  no  less  instructive 
than  melancholy.  The  holy  Visitant  which  was  given  to  en- 
lighten, not  to  control  the  mind,  is  grieved  by  neglect  and 
disobedience.  Incipient  convictions  of  duty  grow  feeble  and 
confused,  and  the  feelings  subside  into  a  fearful  indifference, 
which  is  too  often  regarded  as  sufficient  proof  that  God  has 
not  spoken." 

In   order  to   see   this   subject   in   its   proper  light 
it  is  well  to  observe  closely  the  analogies 

Analogies  of 

Christian  ex-  betwecn  Christian  and  ministerial  expen- 
penence.  encc.     The  human  mind  is  not  drawn  to 

repentance  and   humiliation  before  God   by   Satanic 


LIGHT  FOLLOWS  OBEDIENCE.  \\J 

or  worldly  influence,  but  only  by  the  Spirit  of  grace 
and  truth.  So  when  a  man  is  moved  to  a  life  of 
self-denial  and  cross-bearing,  especially  in  connection 
with  acts  of  obedience  and  devotion,  he  is  at  liberty 
to  infer,  from  the  first,  that  the  impulse  is  divine. 
But,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  duty  to  "try  the  spirits, 
whether  they  are  of  God,"  so  great  a  matter  as  this 
should  be  brought  with  special  urgency  before  the 
throne  of  grace,  and  if,  in  answer  to  sincere  and  fer- 
vent prayers  for  divine  light  and  guidance,  the  im- 
pression is  deepened  and  confirmed,  what  reasonable 
doubt  can  a  Christian  man  entertain  as  to  God's  will 
concerning  him } 

It  is  obvious  that  when  a  devout  person  has  reached 
the  conviction  that  God  is  calling  him  to  ministerial 
duty,  his  immediate  and  only  true  course  is  to  yield  a 
willing  compliance  by  saying,  in  humble  but  grateful 
resignation,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me."  Following  such 
a  response  and  corresponding  action  he  may  expect 
increasing  light  and  growing  clearness  of  conviction, 
whereas  hesitation  to  obey  and  a  disposition  to  say, 
"  I  pray  thee  have  me  excused,"  often  results  in  griev- 
ing the  Holy  Spirit  and  bringing  darkness,  doubt, 
and  sorrow  upon  the  soul.  In  the  former  case  the 
sense  of  duty,  like  the  pathway  of  true  Christian 
experience,  may  be  expected  to  grow  brighter  and 
brighter,  whereas  in  the  latter  it  is  often  beclouded 
and  involved  in  gloom. 

While,  therefore,  as  in  reference  to  our  personal 
salvation  we  are  to  examine  ourselves  carefully  as  a 
means  of  knowing  what  is  our  true  spiritual  condi- 
tion, so  in  regard  to  the  ministerial  call,  it  is  possible. 


Il8       IMPORTANCE   OF  A    CLEAR   CONVICTION. 

by  a  careful  scrutiny  of  our  own  consciousness  and 
of  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  our  hearts, 
to  know  assuredly  that  we  are  the  subjects  of  a 
sacred  impulse  toward  the  peculiar  work  and  respon- 
sibility of  the  Christian  ministry.  It  is  little  to  say 
that  a  positive  conviction  of  this  fact  is  a  primary 
and  an  essential  basis  of  true  ministerial  character. 

2.  The  corroborative  action  of  ones  own  jndgmetit. 
Although  it  is  not  within  the  province  of  any  man 
to  reply  against  God's  just  claims  upon  him,  yet 
those  claims  are  rarely  if  ever  asserted  unless  upon 
the  basis  of  good  and  sufficient  reasons.  Whether, 
then,  one's  natural  feelings  revolt  against  a  self- 
denying  service  or  his  religious  feelings  exult  in  an 
apparent  privilege,  it  is  proper  that  every  person 
considering  the  question  of  ministerial  duty  should 
calmly  and  thoughtfully  inquire  into  the  nature  of 
the  work  required  and  his  personal  adaptation  to  its 
performance.  Although  to  worldly  minds  the  re- 
proach of  the  cross  has  not  ceased  and  may  never 
cease,  yet  to  a  mind  illuminated  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  no  human  engagement  can  be  more  digni- 
fied than  the  direct  and  exclusive  service  of  God. 
Of  what  value  is  the  honor  of  men  in  its  highest 
phases  in  comparison  with  the  honor  that  cometh 
down  from  God  in  a  special  call  to  be  an  embassador 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ }  The  work  of  the  ministry 
must   be  regarded    as  an  engagement  of 

Intrinsic  dig-  °  .         . 

nity  of  the  min-    thc  highcst  posslblc  dignity  and  responsi- 
bility, not  only  as  arising  from  the  divine 
appointment,   but   also   from   its    aims   and    objects. 


OBJECTS  OF  THE  MINISTRY.  II9 

These  relate  exclusively  to  the  task  of  mitigating  the 
woes  of  humanity  and  elevating  our  race  from  misery 
to  happiness,  from  the  deformity  of  sin  to  the  for- 
feited image  and  favor  of  God.  When  exemplified 
in  its  purity  it  aims  solely  to  confer  blessings  upon 
those  for  whom  it  toils.  It  thus  imitates  the  very 
beneficence  of  its  author.  The  importance  of  this 
work  is  further  obvious  from  its  being  unique  among 
the  callings  and  engagements  of  men.  No  other 
can  be  found  so  exclusively  designed  and  so  directly 
adapted  to  promote  the  welfare  of  individuals  and 
the  good  of  society.  Besides,  its  demands  are  urgent 
beyond  expression.  The  wail  of  millions  perishing 
for  lack  of  knowledge  is  but  an  echo  of  the  claims 
which  God  and  humanity  assert  upon  the  time  and 
talents  of  those  who  devote  their  lives  to  the  rescue 
of  immortal  souls  from  the  power  of  Satan  and  the 
consequences  of  sin. 

These  considerations  must  not  be  allowed,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  attract  or  elate  a  person  who  might 
desire  a  noble  occupation,  nor,  on  the  other,  to  dis- 
hearten one  who  is  diffident  of  his  own  capacities 
for  such  a  vocation.  While,  therefore,  the  inquirer 
should  not  fail  to  consider  the  ministerial  work  in 
the  full  light  of  its  dignity  and  its  urgency,  he  should 
with  equal  candor  inquire  into  the  possibility  of  his 
being  enabled  by  grace  to  accomplish  it  in  some 
good  degree. 

At  this  point  it  is  well  to  remember  that  ministe- 
rial capacity  is,  in  an  important  sense,  an    Ministerial 
acquired  talent.     No  one  knows  how  much    pendent  Ifn 
he  can  accomplish  for  God  and  the  Church    cultivation. 


T20  A    CALL  TO  PREPARATION. 

until  he  has  thoroughly  disciplined  and  cultivated  the 
powers  which  God  has  bestowed  upon  him.  Nor  is 
it  possible  for  a  more  inspiring  appeal  to  be  addressed 
to  a  human  mind  to  arouse  itself  in  behalf  of  a  high 
and  liberal  cultivation  than  that  which  accompanies  a 
conviction  that  the  great  God  demands  the  individ- 
ual's noblest  powers  and  largest  efforts  in  his  own 
immediate  service.  That  a  suitable  response  may  be 
made  to  this  appeal  is  in  harmony  with  the  well- 
established  fact  that  a  great  majority  of  ministers  re- 
Advantages  of  ceive  the  Spirit's  call  to  the  sacred  ofBce 
an  early  call.  -j^  ^^  early  stagcs  of  Christian  experience, 
and  usually  in  early  life. 

To  such  "  a  precious  season  is  allotted  for  improvement,  nor 
can  it  be  reasonably  doubted  that  this  is  the  special  design  of 
God  in  giving  so  early  an  intimation  of  his  will.  The  course 
of  duty  is  plain  and  imperative.  This  auspicious  season  should 
be  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  mind.  This  is  now  no  less 
a  duty  than  preaching  the  gospel  will  be  hereafter,  and  they 
who  permit  such  opportunities  to  pass  unimproved  give  no 
promise  of  future  usefulness.  Indeed,  there  is  very  little  prob- 
ability that  they  will  ever  reach  the  sacred  office.  It  is  pre- 
cisely at  this  point  in  their  progress  that  young  men  in  the 
circumstances  referred  to  are  exposed  to  the  greatest  danger, 
and  that  multitudes  of  them  make  shipwreck  of  their  purposes. 
Instead  of  devoting  themselves  to  pursuits  congenial  and  auxil- 
iary to  the  ministry,  and  of  considering  the  cultivation  of  the 
mind  an  imperative  duty  resulting  from  their  sacred  destination, 
they  suffer  themselves  to  drift  along  with  the  current  of  affairs, 
without  purpose  or  proper  employment,  the  creatures  of  im- 
pulses and  of  circumstances.  What  wonder  if  their  energies 
become  relaxed,  their  religious  affections  chilled,  and  their  spir- 
itual hght  darkened?  What  wonder  if  they  are  swept  away  by 
the  flood  of  temptation  and  swallowed  up  in  the  great  deep  of 
worldly  cares  .?  Let  the  pious  young  man  who  believes  that  he 
is  called  to  the  ministry  reflect  that  he  is  with  equal  certainty 
called  to  make  the  best  possible  preparation  for  the  ministry. 


'  ESSENTIAL  ATTAINMENTS.  121 

If  it  would  be  a  grievous  offense  against  God  to  refuse  obedi- 
ence to  his  vocation,  a  full  measure  of  the  same  guilt  is  incurred 
by  neglecting  to  make  all  the  improvement  for  which  Providence 
supplies  such  ample  opportunities."  * 

In  cases  where  mental  preparation  has  been  neg- 
lected at  the  proper  period  it  may  not  be  easy  to  say 
to  what  extent  the  disability  should  be  borne  by  the 
individual,  or  the  Church,  or  both.  Much  may  de- 
pend on  the  possibility  of  overcoming,  by  extra  exer- 
tion, the  embarrassments  entailed  by  former  neglect. 
Not  only  mental  capacity  and  cultivation  should  be 
regarded  essential  to  the  ministerial  work,  but  a  cor- 
responding power  of  public  address.  In  all  these 
respects  it  is  possible  for  a  person,  by  the  aid  of 
judicious  friends  and  without  self-flattery,  to  form  a 
just  estimate  of  his  adaptation  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  But  it  must  ever  be  remembered  that  mere 
capacity  is  quite  insufficient.  There  must  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^_ 
be  a  lively  sympathy  with  the  duties  of  tion  indispen- 
the  ministry,  a  controlling  desire  to  be 
engaged  in  them,  and  worthy  motives  for  their  ac- 
complishment. In  all  these  respects  it  is  the  special 
province  of  one's  own  judgment  and  consciousness 
to  determine  whether  or  not  he  has  suitable  adap- 
tations for  such  employment.  Others  may  judge  of 
him  outwardly,  but  can  only  determine  the  charac- 
ter of  his  heart  and  feelings  by  its  embodiment  in 
action,  whereas  that  character  is  ever  present  with 
himself,  and  if  he  finds  it  out  of  harmony  with  the 
high  purposes  and  engagements  of  the  ministry  he 
has  no  right  to  enter  the  sacred  vocation.     If,  how- 

*  Olin. 

11 


122  CAUTION  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT. 

ever,  on  strict  and  prolonged  scrutiny  he  finds  that 
he  has  the  requisite  sympathies,  desires,  and  motives, 
he  may  safely  surrender  himself  to  what  he  may  then 
be  confirmed  in  believing  to  be  the  call  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Otherwise  he  is  only  at  liberty  to  pray  for 
the  needed  transformation,  and  patiently  wait  until  it 
is  wrought. 

To  enter  the  Christian  ministry  from  worldly  mo- 
insufficient  tivcs,  such  as  the  love  of  ease,  quiet,  popu- 
motives.  larity,  or  emolument,  is  the  height  of  sacri- 

lege. Motives  that  might  be  honorable  in  reference  to 
secular  vocations  are  far  below  the  standard  required 
here.  In  the  choice  of  a  profession  or  avocation  in  life, 
as  that  subject  ordinarily  presents  itself  to  a  young 
man,  he  is  quite  at  liberty  to  consult  both  his  inclina- 
tion and  his  interest ;  but  one  who  should  be  governed 
by  these  considerations  in  entering  the  holy  ministry 
would  not  only  act  unworthily,  but  incur  the  danger 
of  offending  God  and  ruining  his  own  soul.  In  this 
service  self-interest  and  personal  advantage  must  be 
held  in  abeyance,  or  only  regarded  in  the  light  of 
another  world,  and  through  the  medium  of  entire 
submission  to  the  will  of  God.  If,  when  an  inquirer 
has  thoroughly  canvassed  this  subject,  he  is  enabled 
to  see  that  whatever  may  have  been  his  original  in- 
clinations, he  is  finally  drawn  to  the  Christian  minis- 
try as  to  a  divine  agency,  in  which  it  will  be  the 
privilege  of  his  life  to  labor,  and  in  which  he  may 
reasonably  hope  for  success  in  proportion  to  the  di- 
vine aid  he  may  receive,  this  corroborative  action  of 
his  judgment  will  become  to  him  a  strong  internal 
evidence  of  duty  not  to  be  rejected. 


OBSTACLES  REMOVED   OR  INTERPOSED.        1 23 

3.  Piwidential  guidance.  "  It  is  not  in  man  that 
walketh  to  direct  his  steps."*  "  The  steps  of  a  good 
man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord."t  Hence  it  is  only 
proper  that  every  one  anxious  to  know  his  duty  should 
seek  to  derive  all  possible  instruction  from  the  various 
providences  of  which  he  may  be  the  subject.  It  some- 
times happens  that  when  the  first  convictions  of  duty 
fasten  upon  the  mind,  the  individual  is  confronted 
with  obstacles  that  seem  insuperable.  Like  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  escaping  from  Egypt,  while  Pharaoh 
pursues  from  behind,  and  mountains  rise  on  either 
side,  the  sea  flows  across  the  track  in  which  he  is 
commanded  to  go  forward.  If  at  such  a  juncture  the 
waters  divide,  and  a  dry  path  appears  leading  through 
the  deep,  impressions  may  well  rise  to  convictions, 
and  the  inquirer  thenceforth  feel  that  no  room  is  left 
for  him  to  doubt  the  divine  will  as  to  his  duty.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  the  individual's  way  is  abso- 
lutely hedged  up,  and  with  his  best  efforts  he  is  un- 
able to  accomplish  a  preparation  adapted  to  the  work 
and  acceptable  to  the  Church,  he  may  consider  him- 
self providentially  excused  from  public  duty,  however 
his  sympathies  may  be  enlisted  in  it.  Hinderances 
of  this  kind  sometimes  come  from  a  failure  of  health, 
or  the  necessity  of  providing  for  the  wants  of  depend- 
ent relatives,  and  should  be  accepted  with  cheerfulness 
and  resignation,  however  the  subject  of  them  might 
regard  it  as  a  privilege  to  work  for  God  in  a  higher 
sphere.  Duties  may  be  various  and  complicated,  but 
they  can  never  be  antagonistic.  Sometimes  one  who, 
like  Jonah,  seeks  to  flee  from  duty  more  or  less  plainly 

*  Jer.  X,  23.  t  Ps.  xxxvii,  23. 


124  PROVIDENTIAL   REPROOFS, 

made  known,  finds  himself  terribly  rebuked  by  oppos- 
ing providences.  There  are  instances  in  which  the 
truant  yields  to  this  severe  instruction  in  time  not 
to  wholly  forfeit  his  opportunities  of  usefulness.  In 
other  cases,  the  lesson  is  learned  too  late,  and  a  life 
of  practical  rebellion  terminates  in  melancholy  failure. 
While  extreme  cases  like  these  occur,  yet  more  usu- 
ally persons  are  left  to  infer  the  divine  will  from  less 
striking  indications.  In  fact,  providences  are  kindly 
adapted  to  favor  pious  desires,  and  to  reprove  indiffer- 
ence. As  indicat-ed  above,  a  call  in  early  life  should 
be  regarded  as  a  specially  favorable  providence.  Dif- 
ficulties may  beset  the  young  man's  way,  but  the  act 
of  overcoming  difficulties  may  also  be  an  essential 
element  of  his  proper  preparation  for  the  work  to 
which  God  is  guiding  him.  Opportunities  and  pos- 
sibilities are  the  gift  of  God.  A  proper  improvement 
of  them  is  the  duty  of  man.  Not  until  such  an  im- 
provement is  made  can  any  one  know  the  extent  of 
the  usefulness  to  which  he  is  called. 

4.  The  coincident  actio  ft  of  the  Chtcrch.  Thus  far 
the  subject  has  been  considered  from  a  personal  point 
of  view,  in  the  light  of  one's  obligations  to  himself 
and  to  God.  There  is  another  important  aspect  from 
which  it  is  to  be  regarded.  Ministerial  duty,  high 
and  responsible  as  it  is,  is  in  fact  only  a  part  of  the 
work  of  the  Church  as  a  whole.  Hence  it  becomes 
important  to  have  the  co-operative  judgment  and 
action  of  the  Church  to  sanction  and  publicly  authen- 
ticate individual  conviction.  This  fact  has  been  rec- 
ognized from  the  earliest  periods  of  the  history  of  the 
Church.      Thus,  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  when 


CHURCH  ACTION,  12$ 

individuals  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  min- 
ister in  sacred  things,  to  the  Church  was  allotted  the 
recognition  and  authentication  of  the  divine  call.  This 
idea  underlies  the  whole  theory  and  practice  of  ordi- 
nation. But  long  before  public  ordination  is  in  place, 
the  Church  has  an  important  function  to  perform  in 
enabling  the  inquirer  to  know  his  duty.  As  in  the 
call  of  the  sinner  to  repentance,  both  "  the  Spirit  and 
the  bride  say,  Come  ;"  so,  with  a  remarkable  uniform- 
ity, when  the  Holy  Spirit  moves  upon  the  heart  of  a 
young  man  to  take  upon  himself  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, the  Church  is  similarly  moved  to  call  him  to  the 
same  work.  It  is  not  necessary  at  first  that  the  im- 
pression should  be  general,  or  the  action  formal,  but 
if  within  the  Church  there  are  any  true    ,^  . 

•'  Various  modes 

disciples  praying  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  of  church  ac- 
to  send  forth  laborers  into  his  harvest,  and 
their  minds  are  directed  toward  an  individual  who  is 
privately  exercised  in  reference  to  the  same  subject, 
the  coincidence  can  not  fail  to  be  impressive.  Es- 
pecially is  it  so  when  such  disciples  are  moved  to 
communicate  their  impressions  encouragingly  to  the 
persons  already  meditating  this  very  duty.  Nor  is 
the  case  altered  when  members  of  the  Church,  on  the 
basis  of  their  own  convictions,  become  instrumental 
in  first  arousing  the  attention  of  a  young  man  to 
inquire  what  the  Lord  would  have  him  do.  When- 
ever, or  however,  a  coincidence  is  established  between 
the  personal  convictions  of  an  inquirer  and  the  re- 
ligious convictions  of  devout  representatives  of  the 
Church,  it  becomes  an  element  of  great  importance  in 
defining  one's  course   of  duty.     On  the  other  hand, 


126  THE   CHURCH  MAY  ERR, 

if  an  individual's  inquiries  into  this  subject  are  not 
in  due  time  encouraged  by  the  favorable  impressions 
of  the.  Church,  he  may  well  pause  before  resolving  to 
go  a  warfare  at  his  own  charges,  or  on  the  strength 
of  his  own  uncorroborated  convictions.  Yet  it  de- 
serves to  be  stated,  that  there  are  circumstances  in 
which  the  non-action,  or  even  the  negative  action,  of 
the  Church  would  not  be  conclusive  against  the  fact 
of  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry  When  a  Church  is 
inactive  or  lukewarm,  or  when  it  has  little  sympathy 
with  efforts  to  extend  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the 
earth,  it  is  like  a  dumb  oracle,  through  which  the 
Spirit  of  truth  can  not  be  expected  to  speak.  While, 
therefore,  non-co-operation  from  a  dormant  or  apostate 
Church  should  be  no  dissuasive  from  duty,  encourage- 
ment from  a  living,  praying,  and  believing  Church,  or 
its  faithful  members,  may  become  strongly  corrobora- 
tive of  the  impressions  received  from  one's  communion 
with  God,  and  confirmed  by  the  action  of  his  best  un- 
biased judgment. 

The  reader  will  now  be  prepared  to  understand 
Distinction  be-  the  propcr  distinction  between  the  internal 
'.ra"!'*;  and  external  call  to  the  ministry.  The 
external  call.  former  is  thc  diviuc  impulse,  communi- 
cated directly  by  the  Spirit,  and  confirmed  by  the 
providence  of  God.  The  latter  is  the  voice  of  the 
Church.  There  ought  always  to  be  unity  and  corre- 
spondence between  the  two,  and  when  there  is,  there 
can  scarcely  be  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  joint  testi- 
mony. But,  inasmuch  as  it  is  possible  for  the  Church 
to  be  mistaken,  or  for  the  will  of  God  to  be  misin- 
terpreted, conclusions  should  be  formed  with  devout 


SPIRITUAL  APOSTASY.  12/ 

reverence,  and  with  a  thorough  loyalty  to  supreme 
authority.  No  one  can  be  a  legitimate  embassador 
of  Christ  who  is  not  called  and  commissioned  by 
Christ  the  Sovereign,  and  yet  the  true  embassador 
may  need  credentials  of  authentication  from  the  Sov- 
ereign's representative,  which  is  the  Church.  There 
may  be  a  true  call  without  the  desired  authentication, 
and  there  may  be  the  form  of  authentication  without 
the  divine  call.  The  latter  has  been  and  still  is  the 
error  of  Churches  deficient  in  spirituality.  Apostate 
Having  the  form  of  godliness,  but  deny-  of^"piritlVau*^ 
ing  the  power  thereof — 2  Tim.  iii,  5 — they  ^^°"^y- 
exaggerate  the  importance  of  ceremonies,  but  ignore 
the  power  of  the  Spirit's  influence.  They  pride  them- 
selves upon  an  imagined  lineal  and  tactual  succes- 
sion from  the  apostles,  although  deplorably  deficient 
in  apostolic  humility,  and  giving  but  poor  manifes- 
tations of  either  the  mind  or  the  spirit  of  Christ. 
As  a  stream  can  not  rise  higher  than  its  fountain, 
so  ecclesiastical  appointments  from  a  Church  of  this 
character,  however  vaunted,  can  have  no  more  validity 
than  mere  designations  to  office  in  any  civil  society. 
There  may,  however,  be  cases  of  the  divine  vocation 
in  corrupt  and  apostate  Churches.  Thus  God  raised 
up  prophets  among  the  Jews,  and  has  from  time  to 
time  raised  up  reformers  in  the  Christian  Church. 
But,  assuming  that  any  Christian  Church  or  branch 
of  the  Church  appropriately  holds  the  Head  from 
which  all  the  body,  having  nourishment,  increaseth 
with  the  increase  of  God,*  that  Church  may  expect, 
through  fervent  prayer  and  lively  sympathy  with  the 

*Col.  ii,  19. 


1 2  8  CONCURRENT  E  VIDENCES. 

designs  of  the  gospel,  to  be  often  honored  as  an 
agency  of  calling  and  appointing  true  ministers  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  harmony  with  the  higher 
call  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Encouragement,  ordina- 
tion, and  appointment  from  such  a  Church  are  to  be 
highly  prized,  and  the  absence  of  encouragement  of 
this  character  should  be  an  occasion  of  close  scrutiny 
of  one's  personal  impressions  and  a  patient  waiting 
for  the  clearest  light  before  incurring  the  risk  of  run- 
ning without  being  sent. 

5.  A  harmoiiioiLS  concurrence  of  legitimate  reasons. 
As  there  is  absolute  unity  in  truth,  however  varied 
the  modes  of  its  manifestation,  so  God's  will  in  refer- 
ence to  a  Christian's  duty  may  be  expected  to  appear 
the  same,  from  whatever  aspect  it  is  viewed.  Noth- 
ing less,  therefore,  than  a  concurrence  of  all  good 
reasons  why  one  should  devote  himself  to  the  minis- 
try of  the  gospel  should  be  expected  in  every  true 
experience  of  the  divine  call.  But,  as  temperaments 
and  circumstances  differ,  no  absolute  uniformity  in 
the  order  or  intensity  of  personal  experience  can  be 
supposed  necessary  or  desirable.  Some  might,  in- 
deed, wish  the  divine  call  to  be  so  clear  and  demon- 
strative as  to  leave  no  room  for  the  investigation  of 
direct  and  indirect  proofs.  But  it  is  sufficient  for  us 
to  know  that  such  is  rarely  if  ever  the  divine  method. 

"  It  might  be  highly  convenient  to  possess  some  miraculous 
token  by  which  we  might  at  any  time  decide  infallibly  upon  our 
spiritual  state.  Yet  it  has  pleased  God  to  enjoin  frequent  and 
laborious  self-examination,  and  to  institute  a  multitude  of  tests, 
by  all  of  which  we  must  try  our  character  and  measure  our 
aftainments.  In  the  same  manner  the  Scriptures  enumerate  the 
gifts  and  graces  which  are  indispensable  in  a  preacher,  and  they 


PROPER    TESTS.  1 29 

leave  us  to  try  the  pretensions  of  all  who  aspire  to  the  sacred 
office  b}  this  infallible  standard.  The  Church  must  ultimately 
decide  upon  the  qualifications  of  those  who  seek  its  authority 
to  preach  the  gospel,  but  an  individual  may  often  anticipate 
its  judgment  by  applying  its  established  tests  to  his  own  qual- 
ifications. The  Church  inquires  with  regard  to  candidates, 
'Have  they  gifts.?  Have  they,  in  some  tolerable  degree,  a 
clear,  sound  understanding,  a  right  judgment  in  the  things  of 
God.?  Has  God  given  them  any  degree  of  utterance?  Do 
they  speak  justly,  readily,  clearly  ?'  Some  of  these  questions 
may  be  settled  without  any  appeal  to  the  Church,  and  the  want 
of  some  of  the  enumerated  qualifications  is  sufficient  proof  of 
unfitness  for  the  ministry,  and  consequently  of  a  mistake  with 
regard  to  a  call.  A  man  who  thinks  it  his  duty  to  preach  may, 
for  instance,  readily  ascertain  that  he  has  an  insuperable  obsta- 
cle to  distinct,  intelhgible  articulation,  or  that  his  intellect  is  so 
weak  and  confused  that  he  can  neither  explain  nor  understand 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  religion  ;  for  him  no  further  evi- 
dence is  necessary  that  he  has  mistaken  his  calling."  * 

By  such  tests,  therefore,  should  the  inquirer  in  refer- 
ence to  ministerial  duty  try  himself  impartially.  Nor 
should  he  confine  himself  merely  to  theoretic  consid- 
erations. Our  blessed  Lord  has  prescribed  fruits  as 
a  test  both  of  experience  and  character.  Hence  it  is 
well  both  for  individuals  and  Churches  to  experiment 
upon  impressions  of  duty  in  advance  of  final  conclu- 
sions. In  the  different  phases  of  Christian  activity 
there  are  numerous  ways  in  which  an  earnest  young 
man  may,  without  forwardness,  put  forth  efforts  suf- 
ficiently analogous  to  those  required  by  ministerial 
duty  to  enable  him  to  form  an  unbiased  judgment  as 
to  whether  his  exertions  are  owned  of  God.  While, 
therefore,  he  may  be  on  the  alert  for  opportunities  to 
do  good,  the  Church  will  do  well  to  employ  him  in 
some  of  those  minor  offices  in  which  she  may,  on 

*01in. 


130  INITIAL  FRUITFULNESS. 

her  part,  ascertain  his  Christian  fruitfulness.  If  in 
this  progressive  course  of  experiment  good  is  done, 
souls  are  blessed,  and  God  is  honored,  reasons  will 
be  seen  not  only  to  concur,  but  to  multiply  for  a  life- 
long devotion  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

When  by  definite  and  combined  considerations, 
tested  in  the  light  of  Scripture  and  experience,  a 
Christian  young  man  reaches  the  ^conviction  that 
God  calls  him  to  the  sacred  office,  he  should  no 
longer  hesitate.  He  should  respond  to  the  call  by  a 
cheerful  surrender  of  his  own  will  to  the  will  divine, 
and  should,  as  far  as  possible,  set  himself  apart  for 
holy  employments. 

"He  is  no  longer  his  own.  It  was  before  impiet}',  it  is  now 
sacrilege,  for  him  to  Hve  to  himself.  He  is  dead  to  the  world. 
He  has  a  high  vocation,  from  which  his  whole  future  life  must 
take  its  coloring  and  direction.  He  is  consecrated  to  God. 
Sacred  vows  are  upon  him,  and  from  this  hour  all  his  faculties 
of  body  and  mind  are  irrevocably  pledged  to  the  Savior's  cause. 
Years,  perhaps,  must  elapse  before  his  age,  intellectual  maturity, 
and  religious  experience  will  allow  the  Church  to  commission 
him  to  preach  ;  but  this,  instead  of  being  a  ground  for  distrust- 
ing the  divine  call,  and  for  sinking  into  sloth  and  despondency, 
or  for  becoming  entangled  in  secular  employments,  should  be 
esteemed  a  high  and  peculiar  blessing." 

During  all  the  years  of  his  preparation,  his  convic- 
tions may  become  stronger  and  clearer,  and  when  at 
length  he  reaches  positions  in  which  he  can  make  full 
proof  of  his  ministry,  he  may,  by  proper  diligence 
and  devotion,  expect  evidences  of  his  being  in  the 
way  of  duty  to  multiply  until  demonstration  shall  be 
made  doubly  clear.  Souls  converted  by  his  agency 
will  become  seals  of  his  apostleship  on  earth,  as  they 


MULTIPLYING  MOTIVES,  131 

will  be  crowns  of  his  rejoicing  in  the  world  to  come.* 
While  such  possibilities  are  open  before  the  truly 
called  minister  of  Christ,  none  should  be  disheart- 
ened who,  at  the  end  of  candid  and  diligent  inquiry, 
fail  to  receive  conclusive  evidences  of  a  personal  call 
to  the  sacred  office.  Happily,  there  are  numerous 
spheres  of  Christian  usefulness  outside  of  the  public 
ministry,  in  which  similar  objects  can  be  accomplished, 
and  similar  rewards  gained.  The  great  desire  of  every 
Christian  should  be  to  find  his  true  place  in  the  serv- 
ice of  his  divine  Master,  and  then  to  perform  his 
whole  duty,  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability. 

*  I  Cor.  ix,  2 ;  i  Thess.  ii,  19. 


132  PREACHING  AND  THE  PASTORATE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  MINISTERIAL  DUTIES.— THE  TWO 
GREAT  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  MINIS- 
TRY—EVANGELICAL—PASTORAL. 

A  CALLING  so  important  and  comprehensive  in 
its  design  as  that  now  under  consideration  nec- 
essarily involves  a  vast  number  and  a  great  variety 
of  duties.  Nevertheless,  preaching  and  the  pastoral 
care  generically  embrace  them  all.  Attention  should 
therefore  be  given  to  the  distinctive  character,  the  spe- 
cific design,  and  the  proper  relations  and  correspond- 
ences of  these  two  leading  functions  of  the  Christian 
ministry. 

Preaching  and  the  pastoral  care  have  a  common 
object,  but  employ  somewhat  different,  though  never 
antagonistic,  means  for  its  accomplishment.  Preach- 
ing is  the  initial  work.  It  awakens  attention,  arouses 
conscience,  proclaims  the  terrors  of  the  law,  offers  the 
mercy  of  salvation,  and  persuades  men  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God.  Pastoral  care  feeds  the  flock  of  Christ, 
nourishes  and  cherishes  the  lambs  of  his  fold,  gives 
milk  to  babes,  and  strong  meat  to  them  that  are  of 
full  age.  Preaching  introduces  the  gospel.  Pastoral 
care  establishes  and  perpetuates  the  institutions  of 
Christianity.  Preaching  enlarges  the  area  of  Chris- 
tian influence.     Pastoral  care  individualizes  the  appli- 


COMPARISON  OF  DUTIES.  1 33 

cation  and  consolidates  the  results  of  pulpit  labor. 
Pastoral  care  increases  attendance  upon  preaching, 
and  secures  interested  hearers.  Preaching  attracts 
hearers  within  the  circle  of  pastoral  influence,  and 
pastoral  care  waters  the  seed  sown  in  their  hearts. 

Preaching  is  aggressive.  It  is  the  pioneer  work 
of  the  Church.  Pastoral  care  follows  as  the  work 
of  occupation.  Preaching  challenges  attention  and 
awakens  inquiry.  Pastoral  care  removes  doubts,  set- 
tles anxieties,  and  imparts  consolation  and  instruction. 
Preaching  attacks  error  in  its  various  forms,  and  un- 
folds and  defends  the  truth  of  God.  Pastoral  care 
folds,  watches,  and  guards  the  gathered  flock.  Preach- 
ing not  followed,  or  not  duly  sustained  by  correspond- 
pastoral  care,  fails  of  its  ultimate  objects.  ^""^• 
Pastoral  care,  without  preaching,  is  insufficient  to  ac- 
complish the  designs  of  a  Christian  Church.  Churches, 
in  which  preaching  is  neglected,  decline  both  in  num- 
bers and  spirituality.  Those  in  which  preaching  is  de- 
preciated, or  becomes  powerless,  verge  over  into  ritu- 
alistic ceremonies  and  profitless  formalities.  Churches, 
in  which  pastoral  care  is  neglected,  lose  their  organic 
power,  and  tend  to  dissolution.  Preaching  and  the 
pastoral  care  are,  in  fact,  so  closely  correlated,  and  so 
reciprocal  to  each  other,  that  they  should  always  be 
maintained  in  unison,  and  in  mutual  co-operation. 
Yet  there  are  some  particulars  in  which  the  admin- 
istration of  the  two  functions  widely  differ. 

Preaching,  in  some  important  senses,  is  a  universal 
duty,  whereas   the  pastoral   care  is    com- 

r  A  n     /-^      i>         Difterences. 

mitted   to   comparatively   few.     All  God  s 

people  may  be  prophets,  to  the  extent  that  they  may, 


134  DISTINCTIONS  AND  LIMITATIONS, 

by  their  lives,  their  example,  and  their  influence, 
preach  Christ,  and  make  known  the  knowledge  of  his 
name,  and  the  power  of  his  grace,  thus  multiplying 
Christian  activities  at  every  point  of  contact  between 
the  Church  and  the  world.  Pastoral  duties  can  not 
be  thus  subdivided  and  made  diffusive.  They  are 
limited  in  extent  of  territory,  and  for  completeness 
and  efficiency  they  must  necessarily  focalize  in  an 
individual  pastor,  however  he  may  be  aided  by  assist- 
ant pastors  or  lay  helpers.  Not  merely  is  a  pastor  to 
take  the  spiritual  oversight  of  his  flock,  but  also  to 
stimulate  and  guide  the  individual  efforts  of  its  mem- 
bers. Into  this  responsibility  a  stranger  can  not  en- 
ter, however  good  or  great  as  a  preacher.  The  spirit 
of  true  Christianity  always  demands  illustration,  by 
private  as  well  as  public  labor,  for  the  propagation  of 
the  faith  and  the  salvation  of  men.  It  is  therefore 
important  that  such  labor  be  under  wise  direction, 
and  not  wasted  through  circumscribed  views  or  im- 
pulses, lacking  a  worthy  and  specific  aim.  As  well 
might  there  be  many  heads  to  an  army  as  many  pas- 
tors for  a  single  flock.  The  apostle  James  rebuked 
this  error  when  he  said,  "  My  brethren,  be  not  many 
masters."  Rather  should  the  energies  of  an  entire 
flock  be  guided  by  the  wisdom  and  zeal  of  a  single 
responsible  head.  In  this  view.  Christian  churches 
should  not  be  too  large,  so  that  individual  talent  will 
be  in  danger  of  being  overlooked  or  unemployed. 
When,  however,  by  internal  growth  or  centripetal  at- 
traction, a  pastorate  becomes  too  large  for  efficient 
superintendence  or  practical  work,  preaching,  as  a 
centrifugal  force,  should  come  to  its  relief  by  going 


THE   ORDINANCES,  135 

forth  with  colonies  to  plant  new  centers  of  Church 
action.  While  in  all  these  respects  the  wise  pastor 
will  encourage  and  guide  the  efforts  of  his  people,  he 
will  not  forget  that  he,  too,  is  a  preacher,  and  that,  in 
order  to  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry,  he  must  per- 
sonally "  Preach  the  word  ;  be  instant  in  season,  out 
of  season  ;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long-suffer- 
ing and  doctrine."* 

The  administration  of  the  ordinances,  whether  of 
baptism  or  of  the  Lord's-supper,  is  peculiarly  a  pas- 
toral function,  and  its  right  discharge  involves  no 
little  solicitude  and  personal  attention  to  their  sub- 
jects. The  ordinances  of  Christianity  are  not  to  be 
administered  heedlessly,  or  by  mere  routine,  but  rather 
with  a  just  discrimination  as  to  their  design  and  sig- 
nificance. Nor  is  the  minister  to  act  merely  as  a 
judge  in  discriminating  character,  but  also  as  an  in- 
structor to  the  ignorant,  a  helper  to  the  weak,  a  guide 
to  the  erring,  and  as  an  appointed  agent,  by  appropri- 
ate means,  to  turn  men  from  the  service  of  Satan  to 
the  obedience  of  the  truth  and  the  service  of  God. 
The  exercise  of  the  preaching  office  is  a  primary  re- 
quirement of  the  divine  call.  Whoever  th-  two  func- 
has  received  that  call  should  preach  wher-  ^ions separable. 
ever  hearers  can  be  found,  and  whether  invested  with 
the  pastoral  office  or  not.  Faithful  preaching  will 
usually,  if  not  invariably,  create  the  necessity  of  the 
pastoral  care,'  but  that  care  will  not  necessarily  de- 
volve on  the  original  preacher.  Many  useful  preach- 
ers, in  fact,  never  accept  the  pastoral  oversight  of  a 
flock.     Some  feel  themselves  unadapted  to  it.     Others 

*  2  Tim.  iv,  2. 


136  EVANGELISTS  AND  PASTORS. 

are  prevented  from  engaging  in  it  by  the  demands  of 
the  Church  in  other  departments  of  labor.  Some, 
from  constitutional  or  cultivated  preferences,  choose 
to  labor  whcJTly  as  evangelists,  while  other  good  men 
may  not  be  chosen  or  accepted  as  pastors  by  the 
people.  The  last  remark  develops  a  distinctive  pecul- 
iarity of  the  pastoral  office.  It  can  not  exist,  in  any 
proper  sense,  without  the  consent  of  those  who  are 
embraced  within  its  jurisdiction.  There  are,  indeed, 
various  ways  in  which  the  pastoral  relation  may  be 
established  ;  as,  for  example,  by  a  formal  compact  be- 
tween Churches  and  ministers,  or  by  the  routine  of  a 
system  accepted  by  both.  In  other  instances,  the 
pastoral  relation  may  be  imposed  by  government 
authority  or  private  patronage,  and  may  have  a  legal 
and  ceremonial  existence,  even  contrary  to  the  wishes 
of  the  people  ;  but  in  no  case  can  it  be  fully  exempli- 
fied without  the  personal  and  cordial  consent  of  its 
Limitation  of  proper  subjccts.  The  pastoral  relation,  as 
the  pastorate,  bctwecu  a  minister  and  his  people,  being 
practically  a  matter  of  agreement,  is  capable  of  dis- 
solution by  either  party.  Owing  to  this  fact,  good 
ministers  are  sometimes  dismissed  or  excluded  from 
pastorates  through  misapprehension  or  the  untoward- 
ness  of  circumstances.  In  such  cases,  their  pastoral 
functions  may  be  involuntarily  suspended  for  a  longer 
or  a  shorter  time,  but  not  necessarily  their  duty  of 
preaching.  They  may  go  forth  and  seek  other  fields, 
found  other  Churches,  and  again  resume  pastoral  rela- 
tions under  more  favorable  auspices.  But  if  from  any 
cause  the  pastoral  relation  should  not  be  resumed,  the 
preaching  office,  so  far  from  being  abandoned,  may 


PREACHING  A   LIFE- LONG  DUTY.  1 3; 

Still  be  maintained,  and  great  usefulness  result  from 
even  its  occasional  exercise.  Indeed,  that  branch  of 
ministerial  duty,  having  a  wide  sphere  of 
exercise,  outside  of  calls,  settlements,  or  constant  obii- 
official  appointments,  should  be  considered  ^^"°"" 
of  life-long  obligation.  It  should  neither  be  resigned 
nor  disused.  It  should  be  regarded  as  a  talent  be- 
stowed by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  ;  and  having 
been  ratified  or  duly  recognized  by  the  Church  itself, 
in  its  general  capacity,  the  receiver  has  no  right  either 
to  hide  it  in  a  napkin  or  bury  it  in  the  earth.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  should  regard  this  ministerial  gift  or 
charism  as  a  light  kindled  up  in  his  soul,  which  is 
"  neither  to  be  put  under  a  bushel  nor  a  bed,  but  to 
be  set  on  a  candlestick,  that  it  may  give  light  to  all 
that  are  around."  Our  Lord  said  to  his  disciples, 
"  When  they  persecute  you  in  this  city,  flee  ye  to 
another."*  This  instruction  may  be  justly  interpreted 
as  a  general  direction  to  ministers,  that  if  insurmount- 
able difficulties  arise  in  one  field  or  form  of  labor,  they 
are  not  to  succumb  to  obstacles,  but  to  seek  other 
fields,  and  toil  on  in  the  Master's  vineyard  while  life 
and  strength  endure.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  loose 
views  are  too  prevalent  on  this  subject,  and  that  many 
preachers,  truly  called  of  God,  either  through  discour- 
agements or  enticements,  prematurely  discontinue  a 
most  important  sacred  function,  which  they  should 

"  Only  with  their  lives  lay  down." 

As   desertion  is  a  military  crime  of  the  highest 
magnitude,   so   an   abandonment    of   the    ministerial 

*  Matt.  X,  23. 
12 


138  THE   TWO  FUNCTIONS  SEPARABLE. 

vocation  without  the  clearest  indication  of  the  divine 
will  should  be  regarded  as  a  capital  error,  if  not  a 
crime  against  Him  by  whom  the  minister  was  called 
with  a  holy  calling,  from  the  just  claims  of  which 
nothing  less  than  the  authority  of  the  captain  of  his 
salvation  can  absolve  him. 

While  it  may  be  conceded  that  full  proof  of  the 
Atrueministr  ministry  Can  only  be  made  in  the  joint 
may  be  main-    excrcisc  of  the  two  fuuctions  of  preaching 

tained    by    the 

use  of  either  and  the  pastoral  care,  it  is  not  conceded 
that  the  disuse,  for  sufficient  reasons,  of 
either  one  of  these  functions  necessarily  invalidates 
the  essential  character  of  a  true  ministry.  Indeed,  it 
will  often  occur  in  the  practical  work  of  disseminating 
the  gospel  and  establishing  the  Church  that  one  of 
these  duties  is  in  the  ascendant,  while  the  other  is 
suspended  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period.  The  neces- 
sity for  their  combined  or  parallel  discharge  does  not 
always  exist.  In  every  country,  and,  it  may  be  said, 
in  every  community  where  the  gospel  is  introduced, 
there  is  a  period  of  missionary  effort  in  which  preach- 
ing is  the  principal,  if  not  the  sole  duty  of  Chris- 
tian ministers.  Attention  must  be  aroused,  interest 
awakened,  consciences  quickened,  and  souls  converted 
before  the  work  of  a  pastor  can  properly  be  inaugu- 
rated. But,  following  such  results,  pastoral  effort 
rises  to  supreme  importance  as  a  means  of  gathering 
in  the  fruits  of  the  gospel  harvest.  Thenceforward, 
during  the  whole  existence  of  the  Church  established, 
both  duties  may  run  parallel  and  be  strictly  essential 
to  each  other. 

The  ultimate  rather  than  the  primary  order  of  pas- 


INSTITUTION  OF    THE   PASTORATE,  1 39 

toral  labor  in  the  Church  is  indicated  by  the  New 
Testament  record.  The  whole  period  of  our  Lord's 
earthly  ministrations  was  that  of  preparatory  and 
missionary  effort,  and  the  pastoral  office  was  not  def- 
initely established  till  near  its  close,  while  that  of 
preaching  was  appointed  at  its  beginning.  It  was 
during    the    last   six   months    of    Christ's 

.     .  1  r-.        .  Appointment 

public  mmistry  that  the  Savior  distinctly  of  the  pastoral 
illustrated  to  his  disciples,  then  somewhat  °^''^' 
prepared  to  understand  it,  his  own  character  as  the 
good  SHEPHERD  who  was  to  lay  down  his  life  for  the 
sheep.*  At  that  period  and  in  that  manner  he  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  ancient  prophecies  which  had 
declared  that  the  Messiah  should  "feed  his  flock  like 
a  shepherd,"  "gather  the  lambs  with  his  arm  and 
carry  them  in  his  bosom,"  "seek  out  his  sheep  and 
deliver  them,"  "seek  that  which  was  lost,"  "bind  up 
that  which  was  broken,"  "strengthen  that  which  was 
sick,"  "feed  them  with  judgment,"  and  "be  their 
shepherd."!  It  was  not  till  the  night  before  his 
betrayal  that  the  Savior  instituted  the  institution  of 
Holy  Eucharist  and  commanded  its  per-  the  ordinances, 
petuation  in  the  Church,  and  not  till  after  his  resur- 
rection that  he  gave  to  his  disciples,  through  Peter, 
the  urgent  and  comprehensive  command,  "feed  my 
lambs,"  "feed  my  sheep,"  commands  speedily  and 
significantly  followed  by  the  great  commission,  "Go 
TEACH  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost." 

When  our  Lord  sent  forth  his  disciples  on  a  mis- 
sion  of  evangelization   he   sent    them   two    by   two, 

*John  X.  t  Isaiah  xl,  11 ;  Ezek.  xxxiv,  12,  23. 


140  DIVISION  OF  MINISTERIAL  LABOR. 

thus  indicating  that  in  the  early  stages  of  evangel- 
ical labor  a  plurality  of  preachers  is  needed.  In  like 
manner  the  apostles,  in  their  more  important  mis- 
sionary tours,  went  not  singly,  but  accompanied  by 
one  or  more  assistants.  Thus  Peter  and  John  were 
associated  together,  also  Paul  and  Barnabas ;  and 
when  the  latter  two  separated  at  Antioch,  Barnabas 
took  Mark  and  sailed  into  Cyprus,  and  Paul  chose 
Silas  and  went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia  confirm- 
ing the  Churches.  Modern  efforts  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  Christianity,  whether  in  pagan  nations  or 
in  nations  nominally  Christian,  illustrate  a  similar 
necessity  for  a  preponderance  of  evangelical  rather 
than  pastoral  labor  up  to  the  time  when  Churches 
become  established.  After  that,  a  single  pastor  can 
take  the  oversight  of  a  flock  that  has  only  been 
gathered  by  multiplied  labors,  in  which  preaching 
predominated.  Thus,  in  the  progress  of  time  and  in 
Occasions  for  thc  development  of  Christian  institutions, 
of^mii^'sTeriS  ministerial  labor  becomes  legitimately  sub- 
labor.  divided.    This  principle  was  recognized  by 

the  apostles  in  their  demand  for  the  appointment  of 
deacons  to  relieve  them  of  a  part  of  their  previously 
accepted  duties,  also  in  their  subsequent  ordination 
of  elders  for  the  confirmation  of  believers  and  the 
administration  of  the  sacrament.  So  in  modern  times 
by  the  progress  of  Christianity  and  the  multiplication 
of  Christian  agencies  new  departments  of  labor  are 
created.  Thus  the  wide  extension  and  convenient 
maintenance  of  Christian  missions  requires  more  or 
less  persons  to  devote  their  time  and  energies  spe- 
cially to   the   collection  and   disbursement  of  funds 


DUTIES  IN  HARMONY  WITH  THE  MINISTRY.   14I 

and  the  direction  of  missionary  affairs.  The  estab- 
lishment and  conduct  of  educational  institutions  in 
the  interests  of  the  Church  devolves  upon  some 
ministers  the  duty  of  arousing  the  liberality  of  Chris- 
tians to  found  such  institutions,  and  upon  others  that 
of  imparting  or  superintending  instruction.  In  like 
manner  the  proper  enUstment  of  the  press  in  the 
service  of  Christianity  makes  it  necessary  for  some 
ministers  to  become  translators  of  the  Scriptures, 
editors  of  periodicals,  and  authors  of  books,  to  an 
extent  incompatible  with  a  pastoral  charge.  But 
should  such  persons  therefore  renounce  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel  ?  Evidently  not.  Their  work  may  be 
exceptional  in  form,  but  none  the  less  real  in  purpose 
or  result.  Unless  it  has  the  latter  character  it  should 
never  be  undertaken,  or,  if  undertaken  and  found  to 
disappoint  expectations,  it  should  be  resigned,  since 
no  one  conscious  of  being  called  of  God  to  the  min- 
istry and  having  taken  upon  himself  solemn  vows  of 
ordination  should  consider  himself  at  liberty  to  accept 
any  engagement  that  will  inhibit  his  exercise  of  the 
gospel  ministry  at  least  as  a  faithful  preacher  of  the 
word.  Whatever,  in  any  subordinate  or  auxiliary 
vocation,  he  may  do  on  week-days,  he  should  devote 
his  Sabbaths,  "as  extensively  as  possible,  ^^^,^  sabbath 
to  preaching   the   word,   either  as   an   aid    ^^"'"'^^  ^p^^^'^^ 

_  _  and  ever-recur- 

to  laborious  pastors,  or  in  gathering  new  ring  occasions 
congregations.  If  no  field  for  such  labors  ""^  "^^^^^  '"^' 
seems  to  lie  open  before  him  he  should  seek  to  open 
one,  which  will  rarely  be  found  impossible.  Effort 
may  often  be  necessary  to  find  congenial  and  practi- 
cable fields  of  usefulness,  but  it  is  not  to  be  believed 


142  RITUALISTIC   THEORY. 

that  God  ever  calls  redundant  laborers  into  his  moral 
vineyard.  There  is  room  for  all  to  work,  and  need 
for  the  utmost  diligence  of  all.  How  culpable,  then, 
the  inactivity  or  love  of  ease  by  which  many  stand 
in  each  other's  way,  or  bury  in  the  ground  the  most 
valuable  talent  they  possess!  How  wrong,  too,  any 
system  of  Church  administration  which,  for  the  pomp 
of  ceremony  or  Church  parade,  monopolizes  a  retinue 
of  ecclesiastics  who,  scattered  abroad,  might  individu- 
ally preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor ! 

Although  it  is  not  the  object  of  this  volume  to  set 
forth  in  detail  the  magnitude  and  responsibility  of  the 
preaching  office,  but  rather  that  of  the  pastoral  care, 
yet  even  in  this  connection  justice  to  the  scriptural 
idea  demands  that  preaching  should  be  set  in  its  true 
and  ever-important  light.  It  is  in  no  case  to  be  ig- 
nored or  subordinated.  Hence  no  countenance  should 
be  given  to  erroneous  theories  as  to  its  place  in  the 
Christian  system. 

Of  such  theories  one  is  that  in  which  the  adminis- 
Erroneous  the-  tratiou  of  the  sacramcuts  is  held  to  be  the 
ories.  great  and  central  function  of  the  Christian 

ministry,  to  which  preaching  is  merely  an  auxiliary,  or 
perhaps  a  fitting  pendent  as  a  postil  to  a  mass.  This 
theory  underlies  the  practice  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and,  in  fact,  of  ritualists  of  all  grades.  An- 
other, which  is  but  a  modification  of  the  former,  has 
been  adopted  by  some  Protestant  writers  who,  by  the 
error  of  regarding  the  pastoral  office  as  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  whole  Christian  ministry,  practically  make 
preaching  merely  a  branch  of  pastoral  duty.  This 
theory  lends  to  displace  preaching  from  its  true  place 


TRUE    THEORY.  I43 

in  the  Christian  scheme,  without  really  enhancing 
the  dignity  or  responsibility  of  the  pastoral  office. 
Distinct  from  both  these  theories,  the  true  view,  as 
already  indicated,  is  that  preaching  and  the  pas- 
toral care  are  co-ordinate  functions  of  one  and  the 
same  ministry.  Each  is  correspondent  to  the  other, 
whether  both  are  united  in  the  ministry  of  one  indi- 
vidual, or  whether  the  two  are  separated  and  more 
or  less  distributed  in  the  aggregate  ministry  of  the 
Church. 

Let  preaching,  then,  be  ever  understood  to  have 
a  high  and   intrinsic  importance,  whether 

True  theory  of 

regarded   by  itself  or   in   its   relations   to    the   preaching 
the  pastoral  office.    Various  considerations 
confirm  this  view  of  preaching  as  that  which  should 
be  exemplified  by  all  true  ministers  of  Christ.     The 
following  are  suggested : 

I .  Its  tmiversal  adaptation.  Preaching  contemplates 
equally  the  cardinal  objects  of  the  Christian  ministry 
and  the  moral  wants  of  humanity.  As  the  Savior  of 
the  world  was  pleased  to  reveal  himself  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  incarnate  Word,  so  the  word  of  his  grace 
is  designed  and  appointed  for  a  world-wide  proclama- 
tion. Human  speech,  by  Christ's  appointment,  was 
made  the  grand  agency  of  propagating  divine  truth 
for  the  universal  conquest  of  human  hearts.  Hence, 
in  every  nation  and  in  all  circumstances,  able  minis- 
ters of  the  New  Testament  are  wanted  to  proclaim 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  by  diligent  spir- 
itual rninistrations  and  manifestations  of  the  truth 
commending  themselves  to  every  man's  conscience 
in  the  sight  of  God. 


144  PERPETUAL   OBLIGATION. 

2.  The  moral  arid  perpetual  obligation  of  the  preaching 
office.  Preaching  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  It  has  a 
message  alike  for  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned,  the  good  and 
the  bad.  Nevertheless,  its  utterances  should  be  dis- 
criminating. It  should  have  a  timely  word  for  every 
individual,  and  the  preacher  should  be  so  thoroughly 
prepared  and  so  self-possessed  as  not  to  be  abashed  at 
the  presence  of  any  man  in  his  audience.  Dealing 
specially  with  the  consciences  of  men,  and  aiming  su- 
premely at  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  the  preacher 
should  never  cease  to  regard  himself  as  an  embas- 
sador for  Christ,  sent  forth  to  entreat  men  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God.  Nevertheless,  knowing  his  openness  to 
criticism,  and  the  possibility  of  his  message  being  dis- 
armed of  its  power  by  feeble  conceptions  of  truth,  or 
its  unskillful  utterance,  he  should  omit  no  means  of 
qualification,  and  no  urgency  of  prayer  for  the  assist- 
ance of  divine  grace,  that  he  may  be  enabled  "  rightly 
to  divide  the  word  of  truth." 

The  discharge  of  this  branch  of  ministerial  duty  is 
True  evangel-  ^ot  Conditioned  on  the  accident  of  a  call 
ism  aggressive.  fj-Qj^  somc  orgauizcd  Church  or  congre- 
gation. If  God  calls,  his  ministers  should  preach, 
whether  "men  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will  for- 
bear." Hearers  are  more  easily  found  than  pastor- 
ates, and  yet  earnest  preaching  is  the  most  effectual 
means  of  establishing  pastorates  where  they  have  had 
no  previous  existence.  It  is  an  apostolic  ambition, 
upon  which  God  puts  especial  honor,  to  preach  the 
gospel  "  in  regions  beyond,"  or  outside  of  Christian 
occupation,  "  not  boasting  in  another  man's  line  of 


QUALIFICATIONS    TO  BE  SOUGHT.  1 45 

things  made  ready  to  our  hand."*  Hence,  every 
Christian  minister,  young  or  old,  who  is  not  occupied 
in  a  pastorate,  without  standing  idle,  and  lamenting 
"no  man  hath  hired  me,"  should  go  forth  and  seek 
some  field  in  which  he  may  sow  the  seed  ^j^,^^  ^^  j^^or 
of  the  kingdom — some  neglected  neighbor-    should  be 

,  sought. 

hood,  some  abandoned  community,  some 
frontier  settlement,  some  prison,  some  almshouse, 
some  hospital,  in  which  he  may  point  perishing  souls 
to  "the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world."  If  in  such  fields  of  labor  it  is  impossible 
for  him  to  live  of  the  gospel  which  he  preaches,  if  he 
is  compelled  during  the  week  to  minister  to  his  own 
necessities  and  those  of  persons  dependent  upon  him 
by  secular  or  other  occupations,  still  he  has  the  Lord's 
day  in  which  to  work  for  God.  Every  Christian  Sab- 
bath brings  to  him,  as  well  as  to  a  pastor,  an  ap- 
pointed time  for  preaching.  His  responsibility  is  to 
find  the  place  and  discharge  the  duty  to  as  many  as 
will  hear  him.  Here,  it  should  be  remembered,  that 
the  most  laborious  duties  of  the  pastoral  ^^^^^^^^  ^^^^ 
office  have  to  be  performed  on  week-days,    belongs  chiefly 

,  to  week-days. 

and  that  preparation  for  the  pulpit  must  be 
made  in  portions  of  time  that  can  be  redeemed  for 
that  object.  Here  is  the  crucial  test  of  personal  dili- 
gence— to  do  the  one  work  well,  and  not  to  leave  the 
other  undone.  If,  moreover,  the  same  diligence  in 
redeeming  moments  for  religious  studies  and  medita- 
tions be  maintained  by  those  whose  week-days  are 
necessarily  occupied  with  miscellaneous  or  secular  du- 
ties, their  profiting  in  increasing  qualifications  for  the 
*  2  Cor.  X,  16. 

n 


146  THE  FIELD  IS    THE    WORLD. 

preaching  office  might  also  appear  unto  all  men. 
When,  therefore,  a  minister  finds  his  lot  temporarily 
or  permanently  cast  outside  of  a  pastorate,  while  he 
may  not  rejoice  at  his  immunity  from  the  interrup- 
tions and  multitudinous  cares  inseparable  from  the 
faithful  discharge  of  pastoral  obligations,  he  should 
earnestly  endeavor  to  profit  by  that  immunity,  using 
all  diligence,  in  all  spare  moments,  to  secure,  by  all 
available  means,  a  higher  fitness  both  for  present  and 
for  future  usefulness.  Thus,  whether  in  youth,  middle 
life,  or  old  age,  the  truly  called  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  in  whatever  circumstances  he  may  be  provi- 
dentially placed,  should  count  it  his  honor,  his  joy, 
and  his  perpetual  obligation  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  extent  of  his  opportunity  and  ability.  In  this 
manner,  many  faithful  and  truly  apostolic  men,  who 
have  never  been  pastors,  have  been  efficient  evangel- 
ists, and  have  maintained  themselves  while  freely  dis- 
pensing the  gospel  to  others,  and  greatly  aiding  in  the 
extension  of  the  truth  and  in  the  multiplication  and 
strengthening  of  Christian  Churches. 

That  system  of  pastoral  division  of  territory  and 
The  word  of  of  cxclusivc  jurisdiction,  by  which  only  an 
God  not  bound,  official  pastor  is  permitted  to  preach  within 
certain  boundaries,  has  no  countenance  from  Christ's 
precepts,  from  apostolic  example,  or  from  the  reason 
of  things.  While  a  just  respect  should  be  maintained 
for  the  Christian  pre-occupation  of  any  field,  and  while 
proselytism  should  be  despised  and  avoided,  yet  an 
earnest  preacher  should  consider  himself  commis- 
sioned to  imitate  his  divine  Master  in  seeking  to 
save  them  that  are  lost  or  perishing  in  sin,  wherever 


ORDINATION.  1 47 

they  may  be  found.  Thus,  he  should  aim  to  illus- 
trate the  spirit  of  the  great  commission  which  directs 
ministers  to  go  "into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature."  The  spirit  of  this  com- 
mand is  missionary  and  diffusive,  in  the  highest  de- 
gree, and  it  can  only  be  exemplified  by  self-denial 
and  cross-bearing,  both  on  the  part  of  ministers  and 
Churches.  Considering  the  universal  appHcability, 
and  the  perpetual  force  of  this  command,  ordinations 
we  may  infer  it  to  be  the  divine  will  that    should  not  be 

-'  confined  to  pas- 

the  number  of  preachers  in  the  Church  torai  incum- 
should  exceed  that  of  pastors.  It  is,  there- 
fore, neither  scriptural  nor  evangelical  for  Churches 
to  withhold  ordination  from  all  who  are  not  previ- 
ously chosen  or  appointed  to  a  pastorate.  Rather 
it  should  be  regarded  as  the  true  policy  and  the  just 
responsibiUty  of  Churches  to  commission  all  who  are 
truly  called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel,  while  all  who 
are  thus  called  and  commissioned  should  regard  the 
sacred  office  as  of  life-long  obligation,  and  not  to  be 
laid  aside  or  disused  at  convenience.  If  indeed  called 
to  be  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  should  remember 
that  "  there  is  no  discharge  in  that  war,"  and  also  that 
"no  man  that  warreth  entangleth  himself  with  the 
affairs  of  this  life,  that  he  may  please  him  who  hath 
chosen  him  to  be  a  soldier." 

The  Church  of  England,  amid  many  canons,  of  lit- 
tle scriptural  validity,  has  this  one,  the  76th,  which  is 
conceived  and  expressed  in  accordance  with  the  true 
spirit  of  ministerial  obligation : 

'■''Ministers  at  no  time  to  forsake  their  calling.  No  man  being 
admitted  a  deacon  or  minister  shall  from  thenceforth  voluntarily 


148  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  ORDINATION 

relinquish  the  same,  nor  afterward  use  himself  in  the  course  of 
his  life  as  a  layman,  upon  pain  of  excommunication." 

The  proper  theory  of  lay  ministration  will  be  con- 
sidered in  another  connection.  At  this  point  it  is 
sufficient  to  have  shown  that  the  preaching  office  is 
not  only  separable  from  that  of  the  pastorate,  but  of 
constant  obligation  during  the  Hfe,  health,  and  relig- 
ious fidelity  of  its  subject ;  and  that  by  the  faithful 
discharge  of  this  one  branch  of  ministerial  duty,  if 
the  other  is  not  allotted  to  him,  a  Christian  minister 
may  maintain  a  good  conscience,  and  fulfill  the  essen- 
tial requirement  of  the  divine  call. 

It  remains  to  be  noticed  that  ministerial  ordination 

has  reference  to  preaching  as  well  as  to  the 

cont^mpiTtes      admiuistratiou  of  the  sacraments.     Christ 

preaching  as      himsclf  "  ordaiucd  twelve,  that  they  should 

well  as  pastoral  •' 

care  and  min-  bc  with  him,  and  that  he  might  send  them 
forth  to  preach."*  Matthias  was  "  ordained 
to  be  a  witness"  with  the  apostles  "of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus. "t  Paul  declares  himself  to  have  been 
"  ordained  a  preacher  and  an  apostle,  a  teacher  of  the 
Gentiles, J  in  faith  and  verity."  Having  reference  to 
the  special  character  of  his  mission  to  the  Gentiles, 
although  recognizing  his  power  to  administer  the  ordi- 
nances, the  same  apostle  affirmed  to  the  Corinthians, 
that  "  Christ  sent  him  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach 
the  gospel."  Immediately  after  the  ordination  of 
the  seven  deacons  we  have  a  record  of  the  effective 
preaching  of  Stephen,  and  subsequently  of  the  faith- 
ful labors  of  Philip  as  an  Evangelist. 

The  practice  of  ordination  to  the  Christian  ministry 

*  Mark  iii,  14-  t  Acts  i,  22.  \  i  Tim.  ii,  7. 


COMPULSION. 


149 


has  been  retained  in  the  Church  from  age  to  age. 
But  unhappily,  respecting  this  as  in  reference  to  many 
other  subjects,  erroneous  theories  crept  Early  corrup- 
into  the  ancient  Church,  and  led  to  gross  *^°"^- 
corruptions  in  practice.  Of  these  it  is  sufficient  to 
instance  that  of  forced  ordinations. 

"Anciently,"  says  Bingham,*  "while  popular  elections  were 
indulged,  there  was  nothing  more  common  than  for  people  to 
take  men  by  force,  and  have  them  ordained  against  their  wills. 
For  though  many  men  were  too  ambitious  in  courting  the  pre- 
ferments of  the  Church,  yet  there  were  some  who  ran  as  eagerly 
from  them  as  others  ran  to  them  ;  and  nothing  but  force  could 
bring  such  men  to  submit  to  an  ordination.  Ecclesiastical  his- 
tory furnishes  many  instances  of  this,  including 
some  who  were  plainly  ordained  against  their  wills.  ^°^^*^^®  °'"^i' 
It  was  a  common  practice  in  those  times  for  per- 
sons, that  fled  to  avoid  ordination  by  their  own  bishop,  to  be 
seized  by  any  other  bishop  to  be  ordained  by  them,  and  then 
returned  to  the  bishop  from  whom  they  were  fled."  "  Nor  was 
it  any  kind  of  remonstrance  or  solicitation  whatsoever  which  the 
party  could  make  that  would  prevent  his  ordination  in  such 
cases,  except  he  chanced  to  protest  solemnly  upon  oath  against 
such  ordination."  To  hinder  this  protest,  cunning  and  violence 
were  employed.  At  the  ordination  of  Macedonius  by  Flavian, 
Bishop  of  Antioch,  "  they  durst  not  let  him  know  what  they 
were  about  till  the  ceremony  was  over ;  and,  when  he  came  to 
understand  that  he  was  ordained  presbyter,  he  broke  forth  into 
a  rage."  Paulinianus,  Jerome's  brother,  fled  from  ordination, 
but  Epiphanius  caused  his  deacons  to  seize  him,  and  to  hold  his 
mouth,  that  he  might  not  adjure  them  in  the  name  of  Christ  to 
set  him  free.  "  Such  ordination  stood  good,  and  was  accounted 
as  valid  as  any  other." 

Even  when  in  the  following  age  the  sentiment  of  the  Church 
was  so  far  modified  as  to  permit  deacons  and  presbyters,  ordained 
against  their  wills,  to  "be  set  at  liberty  as  if  they  had  never  been 
ordained,"  bishops  were  excluded  from  this  reasonable  provis- 
ion.    "Though  the  imperial  law  gave  liberty  to  all  inferiors,  so 

*  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church,  Book  IV,  chap.  vii. 


150  THEORY  OF  TACTUAL   SUCCESSION. 

ordained,  to  relinquish  their  office  that  was  forced  upon  them, 
if  they  pleased,  and  betake  themselves  to  a  secular  life  again, 
yet  it  peremptorily  denied  the  privilege  to  bishops,  decreeing 
that  their  ordination  should  stand  good,  and  that  no  action 
brought  against  their  ortlainers  should  be  of  force  to  evacuate 
or  disannul  their  consecration." 

Thus  the  "indelible  mark"  would  stand,  however 
unwilling  or  immoral  the  man  that  had  received  it. 
It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  such  abuses  had  their  root 
in  the  materialistic  idea  of  the  descent  of  ministerial 
grace  and  authority  through  tactual  succession.  Yet 
the  tolerated  existence  of  such  abuses  in  connection 
with  the  origin  and  diffusion  of  the  lineal  succes- 
sion theory  has  added  historic  demonstration  to  the 
glaring  absurdity  of  the  theory  itself.  However  at 
variance  with  all  spiritual  conceptions  of  Christian- 
ity, that  theory  has  proved  itself  adapted  to  spread 
throughout  periods  of  declining  and  extinct  spirit- 
uality, and  unhappily  it  still  prevails  as  the  basis 
of  much  error  in  portions  of  nominal  Christendom. 
While  the  evils  that  have  grown  directly  out  of  it 
are  numerous,  it  seems  also  chargeable  with  that 
extreme  reaction  by  which  some  have  rejected  not 
only  the  rite  of  ordination,  but  also  the  sacraments 
themselves,  and  even  the  ministerial  office. 

Excepting  .those  who  receive  the  opposite  and  erro- 
neous theories  alluded  to,  great  practical  unity  of 
sentiment  prevails  in  modern  Churches  respecting 
the  character  and  significance  of  ministerial  ordina- 
tion. The  minor  variations  recognized  among  the 
principal  Protestant  Churches  do  not  materially  con- 
flict with  the  following  points,  in  which,  on  the  basis 
of  scriptural  precedent,  they  all  concur: 


CORRECT  THEORY  OF  ORDINATION.  151 

1.  Ministerial  ordination  is  a  solemn  and  respon- 
sible act  of  the  Christian  Church,  designed  for  the 
safeguard  and  perpetuation  of  its  ministerial  functions. 

2.  It  is  conditioned  upon  evidence  of  the  precedent 
call  of  the  Holy  Spirit  received  by  its  individual 
subject. 

3.  It  recognizes  and  sanctions  the  two  great  and 
co-ordinate  functions  of  the  ministerial  office,  viz.: 
(i.)  The  duty  of  preaching.  (2.)  The  pastoral  care, 
inclusive  of  the  administration  of  the  sacraments. 

A  few  extracts  from  our  Church  ritual  will  show 
how  definitely  the  two  functions  treated  of  in  this 
chapter  are  contemplated  in  the  forms  of  ministerial 
ordination : 

PROFESSION    AND    VOWS    OF    THOSE    WHO    ARE    ADMITTED    TO 
THE   ORDER   OF   DEACON. 

Ques,  "Do  you  trust  that  you  are  inwardly  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon  you  the  office  of  the  ministry  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  to  serve  God  for  the  promoting  of  his  glory 
and  the  edifying  of  his  people  ?" 

Alls.  "  I  trust  so." 

Ques.  "  Do  you  unfeignedly  beheve  all  the  canonical  Script- 
ures of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  V 

Alls.  "  I  do  believe  them." 

Ques.  "Will  you  diligently  read  or  expound  the  same  unto 
the  people  whom  you  shall  be  appointed  to  serve  ?" 

Ans.  "I  will." 

"  It  appertaineth  to  the  office  of  a  deacon  to  assist  the  elder 
in  divine  service,  and,  especially,  when  he  ministereth  the  holy 
communion,  to  help  him  in  the  distribution  thereof,  and  to  read 
and  expound  the  Holy  Scriptures,  to  instruct  the  youth,  and 
to  baptize  ;  and,  furthermore,  it  is  his  office  to  search  for  the 
sick,  poor,  and  impotent,,  that  they  may  be  visited  and  relieved. 
Ques.  Will  you  do  this  gladly  and  willingly  ?" 

Ans.  "  I  will  do  so  by  the  help  of  God." 


152 


SOLEMN  VOWS. 


EPISCOPAL  CHARGE. 


"Take  ihoii  authority  to  execute  the  office  of  a  deacon  in 
the  Church  of  God,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.  Take  thou  authority  to  read 
the  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  Church  of  God,  and  to  preach 
the  same." 

The  vows  of  an  elder  recite  with  still  greater  de- 
tail the  duties  of  faithfully  ministering  "the  doctrine, 
sacraments,  and  discipline  of  Christ:" 

When  those  vows  have  beeji  publicly  a7td  solemnly  taken  ^^thc 
Bishop,  with  the  eldets  present,  shall  lay  their  ha7ids  severally 
upon  the  head  of  every  one  that  receiveth  the  order  of  elders^ 
the  receivers  huinbly  kneeling  upon  their  knees,  and  the  Bishop 
saying, 

"The  Lord  pour  upon  thee  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  office  and 
work  of  an  elder  in  the  Church  of  God,  now  committed  unto 
thee  by  the  authority  of  the  Church,  through  the  imposition  of 
our  hands.  And  be  thou  a  faithful  dispenser  of  the  word  of 
God  and  of  his  holy  sacraments,  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     AmenP 

"  The?i  the  Bishop  shall  deliver  to  evefy  one  of  them  kneeling 
the  Bible  into  his  hands,  saying, 

"Take  thou  authority,  as  an  elder  in  the  Church,  to  preach 
the  word  of  God  and  to  administer  the  holy  sacraments  in  the 
congregation." 

Persons  who  have  taken  upon  themselves  these 
solemn  vows  and  have  accepted  these  impressive 
charges,  or  who  contemplate  doing  so,  can  not  be 
too  studious  of  their  meaning  or  too  sensible  of  the 
weight  and  continuity  of  obligation  they  impose. 


AN  OFFICE   OF  OVERSIGHT,  1 53 


CHAPTER  V. 

SPECIAL  CHARACTER  AND   RESPONSIBILITY   OF  THE 
PASTORATE. 

THUS  far  the  Christian  ministry  has  been  con- 
sidered in  its  aggregated  or  integral  character. 
Nevertheless,  its  leading  functions  have  been  shown 
to  be  separable  into  two  important  classes,  each  of 
which,  in  a  thorough  discussion,  calls  for  separate, 
though  not  exclusive  treatment.  Corresponding  to 
the  general  design  of  a  treatise  heretofore  published 
on  "The  True  Theory  and  Practice  of  Preaching,"  it 
is  now  proposed  to  develop  the  essential  character, 
relations,  and  bearings  of  the  pastoral  office.  As  the 
former  treatise  did  not  ignore  pastoral  obligations,  so 
the  present  will  claim  preaching  as  an  important,  in- 
deed an  essential,  agency  of  complete  pastoral  success. 
In  its  intrinsic  character  the  Christian  pastorate  is 
an  office  of  oversight,  of  moral  guardian-  Preliminary 
ship,  and  of  spiritual  counsel.  It  was  not  ''•^'^^• 
till  the  coming  of  Christ  that  the  office  of  a  religious 
pastor  was  fully  illustrated.  Neither  the  term  nor 
the  idea  was  ordinarily  applied  to  the  priests  or 
prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.  In  the  prophecy 
of  Jeremiah  the  term  is  thus  applied  in  a  few  in- 
stances. One  of  the  most  remarkable  is  that  which 
declares,  "Woe  be  unto  the  pastors  that  destroy  and 


1 54  CHRIST  THE  CHIEF  SHEPHERD, 

scatter  the  sheep  of  my  pasture,  saith  the  Lord." 
This  denunciation  is  immediately  followed  by  a  strik- 
ing prediction  of  opposite  results  under  the  glorious 
reign  of  the  Messiah:  "And  I  will  gather  the  rem- 
nant of  my  flock  out  of  all  countries  whither  I  have 
driven  them,  .  .  .  and  I  will  set  up  shepherds 
over  them  which  shall  feed  them,  and  they  shall  fear 
no  more,  nor  be  dismayed,  neither  shall  they  be  lack- 
ing, saith  the  Lord."     Jer.  xxiii,  1-4. 

In  accordance  with  prophetic  declarations,  Christ 
appeared  and  represented  himself  as  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, who  knows  his  sheep,  and  is  known  of  his. 
Most  strikingly  did  he  set  forth  the  difference  be- 
tween the  true  shepherd  and  the  hireling,  and  with- 
eringly  did  he  rebuke  the  unfaithful  Jewish  teachers 
when  he  said,  "All  that  ever  came  before  me  are 
thieves  and  robbers,  but  the  sheep  did  not  hear 
them."  In  various  ways  did  the  Good  Shepherd  not 
only  indicate  his  own  character,  but  the  correspond- 
ing relation  which  his  people  sustain  to  him.  The 
most  endearing  terms  by  which  he  spoke  of  them 
had  reference  to  this  relation.  When  he  would  com- 
fort his  disciples  against  the  gloom  of  impending 
sorrow  and  trial  he  said,  "Fear  not,  little  flock,  it  is 
your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  king- 
dom." When  he  gave  through  Peter  his  final  charge 
to  the  twelve  he  said,  "Feed  my  lambs,"  "feed  my 
sheep."  The  several  passages  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  and  also  -in  the  Epistles,  in  which  the 
Church  is  denominated  "the  flock"  recognize  the 
pastoral  relation  either  of  the  Chief  Shepherd  or  of 
under-shepherds   appointed    to  represent    him.     The 


PASTORAL  DUTIES.  1 55 

office  thus  introduced  and  established  contemplates 
the  special  service  of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world. 
From  it  we  see  that,  in  addition  to  the  general  prov- 
idential care  which  God  exercises  over  mankind,  he 
specially  provides  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his 
children. 

The   chief  duties   of   the   pastoral   office   may  be 
summarily  indicated  in  three  words— -/r^<^, 

^  -;      ,  Watch-words. 

guidcy  guard.  The  first  work  of  the  Chris- 
tian pastor  is  to  "feed  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  made  him  overseer!"  In  order  to  do  this 
he  must  diligently  and  daily  gather  the  manna  sent 
down  from  heaven.  He  must  break  and  distribute 
to  the  multitude  the  loaves  which  Christ  has  blessed. 
He  must  faithfully  dispense  the  word  of  life.  He 
must  perseveringly  teach  from  the  sacred  desk  and 
from  house  to  house.  In  order  to  do  this  work 
properly  he  must  comply  with  the  exhortation  of 
the  apostle,  "  Be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season ; 
reprove,  rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  long-suffering  and 
doctrine."  But  as  the  flock  is  passing  through  an 
enemy's  country  it  requires  to  be  led  and  guided  by 
one  who  knows  the  perils  of  the  way,  and  who,  amid 
all  the  fascinations  of  the  tempter  and  all  the  allure- 
ments of  the  broad  road  that  leads  to  death,  will 
unswervingly  pursue  the  narrow  path.  What  a  woe 
belongs  to  the  blind  or  unfaithful  guide  who  leads 
the  flock  astray  or  causes  its  members  to  be  lost  in 
the  wilderness  of  error  or  of  sin!  Inasmuch,  also, 
as  the  flock  is  often  assaulted  by  "the  wolf  of  hell," 
under  various  guises  and  with  various  weapons,  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  faithful  pastor  to  stand  guard  as  a 


156  VARIATIONS, 

sentinel  upon  the  watch-towers  of  Zion,  to  furnish 
both  alarm  and  defense  in  the  time  of  danger.  In 
accordance  with  this  idea,  the  ordination  vow  of 
every  bishop  and  elder  of  our  Church  pledges  him 
to  be  "ready  with  all  faithful  diligence  to  banish  and 
drive  away  all  erroneous  and  strange  doctrines  con- 
trary to  God's  word,  and  to  use  both  public  and  pri- 
vate monitions  and  exhortations,  as  well  to  the  sick 
as  to  the  whole,  as  need  shall  require  and  occasion 
be  given." 

Since  the  establishment  of  Christianity  in  the 
earth,  and  wherever  it  has  extended,  the  pastoral 
office  has  been  recognized,  although  its  exercise  has 
been  attended  with  more  or  less  variations,  as  differ- 
ent systems  of  Church  polity  have  prevailed.  While 
it  might  be  interesting,  and  perhaps  profitable,  to 
trace  the  variations  of  pastoral  authority  and  custom 
through  difierent  ages  and  countries,  still  it  is  more 
important  to  ascertain  the  proper  claims  and  respon- 
sibilities devolving  upon  Christian  pastors  at  the  pres- 
ent time  and  in  our  own  country.  Without  alluding 
to  minor  differences,  it  is  obvious  that  pastors  are 
very  differently  circumstanced  in  Churches  organized 
under  the  voluntary  system  from  those  appointed  over 
Churches  in  union  with  states,  of  whatever  form  of 
government.  In  the  latter  many  of  the  duties  of  the 
clergy  are  defined  by  civil  law,  and  their  authority  is 
prescribed  and  controlled  by  temporal  power.  Be- 
sides, pastoral  appointments  are  made  through  per- 
sonal or  political  patronage,  without  reference  to  the 
will  of  the  people. 

But  under  the  voluntary  system  the  pastoral  office 


THE  VOLUNTARY  SYSTEM.  1 57 

over  any  given  flock  is  the  result  of  a  free  choice, 
or  of  spiritual  affinities  which  render  its  exercise  a 
mutual  joy  and  advantage,  provided  it  be  exercised 
with  fidelity  and  discretion.  While  in  the  United 
States  of  America  the  conventionalities  of  ancient 
and  foreign  custom  have  little  weight,  yet  in  no 
country  of  the  world  is  true  merit  more  respected, 
nor  have  earnest  Christian  ministers  any  wider  or 
more  promising  field  for  religious  effort.  This  state 
of  things  is  favorable  to  the  development  of  a  high 
standard  of  pastoral  character,  and,  although  distin- 
guished by  numerous  advantages  that  have  resulted 
from  the  progress  and  influence  of  Christianity,  it  is 
similar,  in  many  respects,  to  the  condition  of  the 
early  Church  in  the  days  of  its  primitive  purity  and 
power.  Neither  the  apostles,  elders,  or  bishops  of 
the  New  Testament  Church  had  presentations  to  liv- 
ings, benefices,  advowsons,  or  endowments  of  any 
kind.  They,  indeed,  recognized  the  principle  that 
those  who  preached  the  gospel  should  live 

^  ,   .  New    Testa- 

of  the  gospel,  but,  failing  of  a  necessary  ment  churches 
support  from  the  Churches  which  they  ''°"''^^'^" 
founded  and  served,  their  own  hands  ministered  to 
their  necessities,  nor  would  they  sufler  themselves  to 
be  a  burden  to  any.  In  this  way,  though  poor,  they 
made  many  rich,  and  by  the  willing  sacrifice  of  them- 
selves they  laid  the  foundations  of  Churches  wherever 
they  could  find  access  for  the  truth.  From  numer- 
ous expressions  in  the  inspired  epistles  we  learn  that 
the  apostles  themselves  relied  solely  on  divine  grace 
and  their  own  moral  and  spiritual  influence  for  the 
power  they  sought  to  wield  in  behalf  of  the  souls  of 


158  THE  MESSIAH  A  SHEPHERD. 

men.  They  recognized  their  appointment  to  be  of 
God ;  nevertheless  they  only  claimed  reverence  and 
estimation  for  their  work's  sake.  "We  beseech  you, 
brethren,  to  know  them  which  labor  among  you,  and 
are  over  you  in  the  Lord,  and  admonish  you;  and 
to  esteem  them  very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's 
sake."  I  Thess.  v,  12,  13.  "Remember  them  which 
have  the  rule  over  you,  who  have  spoken  unto  you 
the  word  of  God :  whose  faith  follow,  considering  the 
end  of  their  conversation."     Heb.  xiii,  7. 

Assuming,  then,  that  the  condition  of  the  volun- 
tary Churches  of  America  in  the  full  religious  liberty 
they  enjoy  is  favorable  to  the  exercise  of  the  pastoral 
office  according  to  its  scriptural  design,  it  becomes 
important  to  learn  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  what 
that  design  is. 

In  considering  this  subject  attention  may  be  given 
to,  I.  The  pastoi'al  character  of  the  Messiah  as  fore- 
sJiadowed  by  prophecy, 

"  He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd ;  he  shall 
gather  the  lambs  with  his  arm,  and  carry  them  in 
his  bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  those  that  are  with 
young."  Isaiah  xl,  11.  "I  will  set  up  one  shepherd 
over  them,  and  he  shall  feed  them,  even  my  servant 
David;  he  shall  feed  them,  and  be  their  shepherd." 
Ezek.  xxxiv,  23. 

Without  accumulating  quotations  of  this  class,  we 
may  consider,  2.  TJie  developed  character  of  Christ  as 
the  chief  ShepJier'd  of  God's  spiritual  fold. 

"Then  said  Jesus  unto  them  again.  Verily,  \erily, 
I  say  unto  you,  I  am  the  door  of  the  sheep."  "  I  am 
the  good  shepherd :  the  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life 


THE  LAMB   OF  GOD.  1 59 

for  the  sheep."  "I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know 
my  sheep,  and  am  known  of  mine."  "  I  lay  down 
my  Hfe  for  the  sheep."  "There  shall  be  one  fold, 
and  one  shepherd."  "  Therefore  doth  my  Father  love 
me,  because  I  lay  down  my  life  that  I  might  take 
it  again."  "  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know 
them,  and  they  follow  me.  And  I  give  unto  them 
eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall 
any  man  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand."  John  x,  7, 
II,  14-17,  2^],  28. 

Thus  our  Savior  not  only  recognized  his  own  pas- 
toral character,  but  he  explained  and  illustrated  it  by 
allusions  to  his  impending  sacrificial  death,  which  had 
also  been  the  burden  of  prophecy.  In  reference  to 
this  crowning  end  of  Christ's  earthly  mission  the 
prophetic  figures  had  also  designated  him  as  "a  lamb 
brought  to  the  slaughter."  Isaiah  liii,  7;  Jer.  xi,  19. 
This  additional  figure,  based  at  once  on  pastoral  life 
and  sacrificial  customs,  took  a  strong  hold  upon  the 
Oriental  mind.  Hence  the  significant  exclamation  of 
John  the  Baptist  when  he  identified  Jesus  as  the 
manifested  Messiah:  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world !"  "Again, 
the  next  day  after,  John  stood  and  two  of  his  disci- 
ples ;  and  looking  upon  Jesus  as  he  walked,  he  saith, 
Behold  the  Lamb  of  God!"     John  i,  29,  35,  ^6. 

Following  the  crucifixion,  the  two  great  pastoral 
images  of  fulfilled  prophecy,  namely,  of  the  shepherd 
and  the  lamb,  became  naturally  blended  in  the  Chris- 
tian mind.  Thus,  the  chief  Shepherd  of  Israel  was 
seen  to  have  been  "  the  Lamb  of  God  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,"   who  also,   as  the  exalted 


l60  THE  SLAIN  LAMB. 

Savior,  would  in  due  time  appear  again  to  bestow  a 
crown  of  glory  upon  each  one  of  his  faithful  servants. 
I  Pet.  V,  4.  Thus  the  term  Lamb,  at  once  indicative 
of  spotless  purity,  and  of  the  vicarious  sacrifice  pro- 
vided for  "  a  world  of  sinners  lost,"  came  to  be  one  of 
the  most  endearing  appellations  of  the  risen  Savior, 
associated  also  with  the  attributes  of  a  Shepherd  car- 
ing for  his  flock,  and  of  a  King  seated  upon  his  throne 
of  power.  Witness  various  expressions  of  the  Reve- 
lation. "  And  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  and  of  the  four  beasts,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
elders,  stood  a  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain."  "And  I 
beheld,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  many  angels  round 
about  the  throne,  .  .  .  saying  with  a  loud  voice. 
Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power, 
and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and 
glory,  and  blessing."  Rev.  v,  6,  11,  12.  "After  this 
I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man 
could  number,  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  peo- 
ple, and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne,  and  before 
the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in 
their  hands  ;  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.  Sal- 
vation to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb.  .  .  .  These  are  they  which  came 
out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  .  .  . 
He  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them. 
They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more  ; 
neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For 
the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall 
feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains 
of  waters."     Rev.  vii,  9,  10,  14-17. 


MINGLED  ALLUSIONS.  l6l 

The  blending  of  allusions  to  royal  and  pastoral  life 
was  in  harmony  with  the  history  of  David,  the  shep- 
herd king,  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  types  of 
Christ.  Who  can  fail  to  see  its  beauty  and  its  force 
in  illustrating  the  duty  and  constant  care  of  a  good 
shepherd  to  feed,  lead,  and  guard  his  flock  ?  Not  only 
will  he  protect  them  from  marauding  wolves,  but  from 
the  heat  of  the  burning  sun.  Other  quotations  will 
show  how  the  sheep  of  the  great  Shepherd  are  to  be 
distinguished. 

"  And  I  saw  another  angel  ascending  from  the  east, 
having  the  seal  of  the  living  God  :  and  he  cried  with 
a  loud  voice  to  the  four  angels,  .  ~ .  .  saying.  Hurt 
not  the  earth,  neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we 
have  sealed  the  servants  of  God  in  their  foreheads." 
Rev.  vii,  2,  3.  "  And  I  looked,  and,  lo,  a  Lamb  stood 
on  the  mount  Sion,  and  with  him  a  hundred  and  forty- 
four  thousand,  having  his  Father's  name  written  in 
their  foreheads."  Rev.  xiv,  i.  No  possible  combina- 
tion of  expressive  figures  could  more  strikingly  indi- 
cate the  glories  of  redemption  than  these  by  which 
the  sympathetic  Shepherd  and  the  spotless  suffering 
Lamb  are  forever  united  in  the  one  character  of  the 
promised  Redeemer.  But  the  pastoral  idea  is  still 
further  intensified  in  those  figures  of  the  Revelat'on 
in  which  the  Church,  the  flock  of  the  great  Shepherd, 
is  also  represented  as  "  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife." 
"  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the  seven  angels, 
.  .  .  and  talked  with  me,  saying,  Come  hither,  I 
will  show  thee  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife.  And  he 
carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  great  and  high 
mountain,  and  showed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy 

14 


1 62  LESSONS  OF  REVELATION. 

Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God." 
"And  I  saw  no  temple  therein :  for  the  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it.  And  the 
city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to 
shine  in  it,  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the 
Lamb  is  the  light  thereof"     Rev.  xxi,  9,  10,  22,  23. 

In  the  following  and  concluding  chapter  the  de- 
scription of  the  new  Jerusalem  culminates  in  a  state- 
ment of  the  object  for  which  the  holy  city  is  appointed, 
namely,  to  be  the  eternal  home  of  the  Redeemer  and 
the  redeemed.  "  The  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb 
shall  be  in  it ;  and  his  servants  shall  serve  him  :  and 
they  shall  see  his  face  ;  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads."  Rev.  xxii,  3,  4.  Thus  it  appears,  that  in 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
there  will  be  an  exact  correspondence  between  those 
who  "are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life"  and 
the  souls  upon  whom  the  name  and  the  moral  image 
of  Jesus  are  inscribed. 

From  out  of  this  marvelous  imagery  the  plainest 
and  most  profitable  lessons  of  instruction  may  be  de- 
rived, (i.)  Christ,  as  the  chief  Shepherd,  is  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  flock  ransomed  by  his  atoning  blood — 
"  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  (2.)  As  the  shepherd 
marks  each  member  of  his  flock  with  his  own  name, 
or  some  distinguishing  character,  so  each  believing 
heart  needs  to  receive  the  seal  of  the  divine  adop- 
tion, the  impress  of  the  eternal  name.  (3.)  It  is 
the  office  and  work  of  Christ's  under-shepherds, 
while  feeding,  leading,  and  guarding  his  flock,  to  im- 
press this  sacred  name  and  character  upon  every  one 
of  its  members. 


UNDER-SHEPHERDS.  1 63 

Attention  may  now  be  given  to,  3.   The  Saviors  ap- 
pointment of  Christian  pastors  as  his  unaer-s hep  herds. 

As  one  of  the  preparatory  agencies  for  the  intro- 
duction of  Christ's  kingdom   upon  earth  the  Jewish 
Scriptures  abounded  in  allusions  to   pastoral  life,  in 
which   the  people   of   God   were   represented   as   his 
flock,  and  their  appointed  teachers  as  pastors.     See 
Ps.  Ixxvii,  20;  Ixxviii,  52;  Ixxx,   i;    Zech.  ix,   16;   x, 
2,  3.     Our  Savior  repeatedly  employed  similar  allu- 
sions, with  the  same  significance.     He  said  of  himself, 
Matt.  XV,  24,  "  I  am  not  sent  but  to  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel."     In  his  primary  commission  of 
the  twelve  disciples  he  said,   "  Go  to  the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel,  and  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying, 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."     Subsequently  he 
uttered  his  memorable  discourse  on  the  shepherd  and 
the  sheep,  already  referred  to,  and  reported  so  graph- 
ically in  the  loth  chapter  of  John,  and  identifying  him 
as  the  true  Shepherd,  who  would  lay  down  his  life  for 
the  sheep.     When  he  had  gathered  around  him  a  small 
company  of  disciples,  the  nucleus  of  the  infant  Church, 
he  said  to  them,  "  Fear  not,  little  flock ;   it  is  your 
Father's   good  pleasure   to  give  you   the   kingdom." 
Luke   xii,    32.      He   also,  in  due   time,   charged   his 
trained  disciples  with  the  pastoral  care  of  that  same 
flock.     Nothing  could  have  been  more  significant  or 
impressive   than  the    Savior's   thrice-repeated  injunc- 
tion to  Peter,  as  a  representative  apostle,  "  Feed  my 
lambs."     "  Feed  my  sheep."     John  xxi,  15,  17.     Given 
as  this  solemn  and  reiterated  charge   was,  after  his 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  prior  to  his  glorious 
ascension,  it  stands  out  as  the  crowning  obligation  of 


1 64  THE   GREAT  COMMISSION, 

all  true  Christian  ministers,  and  the  perpetual  test  of 
their  personal  love  of  the  Savior  himself  After  such 
a  summary  and  emphatic  declaration  from  the  lips  of 
the  Savior,  enjoining  upon  his  ministers  the  office  and 
duty  of  pastors  to  his  Church,  it  was  not  necessary 
for  him  greatly  to  multiply  words  or  precepts  of  the 
same  significance.  And  yet  in  this  closing  command 
to  his  disciples,  usually  denominated  "  the  great  com- 
mission," the  pastoral  idea  is  made  prominent — indeed, 
its  embodiment  in  that  final  and  authoritative  utter- 
ance may  justly  be  considered  the  culmination  of  his 
earthly  ministry.  "  And  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto 
them,  saying,  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you : 
and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  If  this  command  was  missionary  in  its  char- 
acter, it  was  none  the  less  pastoral.  So  long,  then, 
as  it  shall  remain  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  evan- 
gelize the  nations,  it  will  be  a  corresponding  duty  to 
provide  for  them  wholesome  religious  instruction,  and 
the  divine  ordinances  at  the  hands  of  duly  appointed 
pastors. 

4.    The  apostolic  idea  of  the  pastoral  office. 

Although  the  apostolic  age  was  a  period  of  mis- 
sionary labor,  yet  the  apostles,  from  the  first,  recog- 
nized their  pastoral  responsibility,  and  illustrated  their 
high  conceptions  of  it  in  all  the  inspired  epistles  they 
wrote.  Witness  the  charge  of  Paul  to  the  elders 
of  Ephesus.     "Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves, 


PETER'S  PRECEPTS.  1 65 

and  to  all  the  flock,  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath 
made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the  Church  of  God,  which 
he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  For  I  know 
this,  that  after  my  departing  shall  grievous  wolves 
enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock.  Also  of 
your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse 
things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them.  Therefore 
watch!"  Acts  XX,  28-31.  The  Pastoral  Epistles  to 
Timothy  and  Titus,  already  referred  to  and  quoted, 
on  pages  66-9,  are  a  standing  proof  of  the  large  share 
of  attention  given  to  this  subject  by  the  apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  in  the  instructions  he  has  left  on  record 
for  ministers  and  Churches. 

Peter,  also,  in  his  Epistles  General,  shows  how  faith- 
fully he  remembered,  to  the  end  of  his  earthly  career, 
the  thrice-repeated  injunction  of  his  risen  Lord.  "The 
elders  which  are  among  you  I  exhort :  .  .  .  Feed 
the  flock  of  God  which  is  among  you,  taking  the  over- 
sight thereof,  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly  ;  not  for 
filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind  ;  neither  as  being 
lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  being  ensamples  to  the 
flock.  And  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  ye 
shall  receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away." 
I  Pet.  V,  1-4. 

In  addition  to  the  direct  employment  of  pastoral 
figures  to  illustrate  pastoral  duty,  the  apostles  give 
many  significant  illustrations  of  the  same  idea  in 
other  forms. 

Consideration  will  now  be  given  to  several  impor- 
tant appellations,  besides  that  of  pastors,  applied  by 
the  apostles  to  themselves  and  their  Christian  co- 
laborers,  the  under-shepherds  of  their  common  Lord. 


1 66        THE  PASTORATE  A    TEACHING  OFFICE. 

I.  Teachers.  The  historic  order  of  ministerial  devel- 
opment is  clearly  indicated  in  the  oft-quoted  passage, 
Eph.  iv,  II,  12:  "And  he  gave  some,  apostles;  and 
some,  prophets  ;  and  some,  evangelists ;  and  some, 
pastors  and  teachers  ;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints, 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ."  The  apostolic  office,  being  primary 
and  associated  with  prophetic  gifts,  prepared  the  way 
for  the  general  dissemination  of  the  gospel  by  a  more 
numerous  company  of  evangelists,  following  whose 
labors  pastors  and  teachers  came  to  be  a  permanent 
necessity,  and  were  accordingly  provided  by  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church.  The  coupling  of  the  terms  pas- 
tor and  teacher  together  in  this  connection  is  in  itself 
a  comment  on  the  meaning  of  both.  It  shows  that 
the  pastor  is  to  feed  his  flock  with  intellectual  and 
spiritual  food,  while  as  a  religious  teacher  he  is  to 
communicate  the  saving  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God 
as  a  means  of  edifying,  singly  and  collectively,  the 
body  of  Christ. 

The  Christian  pastorate,  then,  is  a  teaching  office. 
Christ  himself  was  a  teacher  sent  from  God,  and  in 
that  respect  a  prototype  of  every  true  pastor  appointed 
for  his  Church.  The  apostles  taught,  as  an  important 
function  of  their  early  ministry.  Even  though  perse- 
cuted for  so  doing,  "  daily  in  the  temple,  and  in  every 
house,  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus 
Christ."     Acts  v,  42. 

When  the  apostle  Paul  enjoined  upon  Timothy  the 
duty  of  committing  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  to  wor- 
thy successors,  he  employed  this  language :  "  The 
things  that  thou  hast  heard  of  me  among  many  wit- 


ESSENTIAL   REQUISITIONS.  167 

nesses,  the  same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men,  who 
shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also."  2  Tim.  ii,  2. 
In  this  precept  two  grand  requisitions  are  made  as 
essential  to  ministerial  character:  i.  Faith,  a  moral 
and  spiritual  qualification.  2.  Ability  to  teach,  a  qual- 
ification resulting  from  natural  gifts,  proper  cultiva- 
tion, and  experience. 

While  the  value  of  faith  as  a  means  of  personal  sal- 
vation can  not  be  overestimated,  yet  not  all  men  who 
possess  it  are  capable  of  becoming  public  instructors. 
The  apostle  Paul  most  forcibly  inculcates  diligent  effort 
to  acquire  knowledge  as  an  essential  means  of  prep- 
aration to  teach.  "  Thou  therefore  which  teachest 
another,  teachest  thou  not  thyself.?"  Rom.  ii,  21. 
"  Study  to  show  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a  work- 
man that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth."  2  Tim.  ii,  15.  The  capacity  of 
teaching,  then,  may  be  both  acquired  and  improved. 
Hence  ministers  are  answerable,  in  a  high  degree,  for 
its  possession,  its  cultivation,  and  its  use. 

Nevertheless,  in  order  to  teach  divine  truth  effect- 
ually, there  must  be  a  sincere  dependence  on  the  aid 
of  divine  grace  and  wisdom.  The  apostle  Paul  illus- 
trates this  in  several  striking  passages  :  "  Not  that  we 
are  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  think  any  thing  as  of  our- 
selves ;  but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God  ;  who  also  hath 
made  us  able  ministers  of  the  New  Testament."  2 
Cor.  iii,  5,  6.  "By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am  : 
and  his  grace  which  was  bestowed  upon  me  was  not 
in  vain."  i  Cor.  xv,  10.  "I  was  made  a  minister,  ac- 
cording to  the  gift  of  the  grace  of  God  given  unto  me 
by  the  effectual  working  of  his  power."     Eph.  iii,  7. 


1 68  WARNINGS. 

Peter  also  teaches  the  same  doctrine :  "  If  any  man 
minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability  which  God 
giveth  ;  that  God  in  all  things  may  be  glorified 
through  Jesus  Christ."     i  Pet.  iv,  ii. 

Not  only  is  the  religious  teacher  required  to  culti- 
vate knowledge  and  a  sound  understanding,  as  a 
means  of  discharging  properly  his  pastoral  obliga- 
tions, he  is  also  held  responsible  for  the  correctness 
of  his  doctrine  (teaching),  and  expressly  forbidden  to 
teach  any  other  doctrine  than  the  commandments  of 
God.      I  Tim.  i,  1-3  ;  Gal.  i,  8,  9. 

The  apostle  Paul's  suggestions  on  this  subject  are 
numerous  and  definite  :  "  Speak  thou  the  things  that 
become  sound  doctrine."  *'  In  doctrine  showing  un- 
corruptness,  gravity,  sincerity,  sound  speech,  that  can 
not  be  condemned."  Tit.  ii,  i,  7,  8.  "Be  not  carried 
about  with  divers  and  strange  doctrines."  Heb.  xiii, 
9.  "  Let  no  corrupt  communication  proceed  out  of 
your  mouth,  but  that  which  is  good  to  the  use  of  edi- 
fying, that  it  may  minister  grace  unto  the  hearers." 
Eph.  iv,  29.  The  apostle  John  records  a  striking 
admonition  against  doctrinal  apostasy.  "  Whosoever 
transgresseth,  and  abideth  not  in  the  doctrine  of 
Christ,  hath  not  God.  He  that  abideth  in  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ,  he  hath  both  the  Father  and  the  Son." 
2  John,  9.  Isaiah,  in  the  olden  time,  had  anathema- 
tized "the  prophet  that  teacheth  lies  ;"  and  our  Savior, 
in  his  day,  had  shown  the  vanity  of  "  teaching  for 
doctrines  the  commandments  of  men,"  and  illustrated 
its  consequences  by  his  word-picture  of  the  blind 
leading  the  blind,  and  both  falling  into  the  ditch. 
Matt.  XV,  8,  14.     The  apostle  Peter  faithfiilly  warned 


THE    WATCHMEN  OF  ZION.  1 69 

the  Church  against  "  false  teachers,  who  privily  shall 
bring  in  damnable  heresies,  even  denying  the  Lord 
that  bought  them,  and  bring  upon  themselves  swift 
destruction."  2  Pet.  ii,  i.  Such  warnings  against 
doctrinal  error  and  its  consequences  suggest  the  fact 
that  an  important  part  of  the  duty  of  the  faithful 
pastor  is  to  warn  and  admonish  those  committed  to 
his  care  against  the  corruptions  that  are  in  the  world 
through  lust  and  sin  ;  "  warning  every  man,  and  teach- 
ing every  man  in  all  wisdom  ;  that  we  may  present 
every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus."  Col.  i,  28.  Thus, 
in  an  important  sense,  Christian  pastors  are  also, 

2.  Watchmen.  "  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
you,  and  submit  yourselves :  for  they  watch  for  your 
souls  as  they  that  must  give  account."  Heb.  xiii,  17. 
The  idea  of  watchfulness  for  souls  had  been  strik- 
ingly illustrated  in  connection  with  the  prophetic 
office  among  the  Jews.  "  I  set  watchmen  over  you, 
saying,  Hearken  to  the  sound  of  the  trumpet."  Jer. 
vi,  17.  *'Son  of  man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watchman 
unto  the  house  of  Israel ;  therefore  hear  the  word  at 
my  mouth,  and  give  them  warning  from  me.  When 
I  say  unto  the  wicked.  Thou  shalt  surely  die;  and 
thou  givest  him  not  warning,  nor  speakest  to  warn 
the  wicked  from  his  wicked  way  to  save  his  life ;  the 
same  wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity,  but  his 
blood  will  I  require  at  thine  hand."  Ezek.  iii,  17,  18. 
"  If  the  watchman  see  the  sword  come,  and  blow  not 
the  trumpet,  and  the  people  be  not  warned;  if  the 
sword  come  and  take  any  person  from  among  them, 
he  is  taken  away  in  his  iniquity,  but  his  blood  will 
I  require  at  the  watchman's  hand."     Ezek.  xxxiii,  6 

15 


I/O  DUTY  OF  WATCHFULNESS. 

Our  Savior  himself,  with  the  greatest  emphasis, 
enjoined  upon  his  disciples  watchfulness,  and  watch- 
fulness accompanied  by  prayer,  as  a  means  of  escap- 
ing temptation.  Mark  xiii,  37.  The  apostles  reiter- 
ated the  command,  "Let  us  watch  and  be  sober."  i 
Thess.  V,  6.  "  Be  ye  therefore  sober,  and  watch  unto 
prayer."  i  Peter  iv,  7.  Paul,  also,  in  the  last  epistle 
written  by  his  inspired  pen,  specially  enjoins  watchful- 
ness on  Timothy  as  essential  to  the  accompHshment 
of  his  ministerial  work.  "Watch  thou  in  all  things, 
endure  afflictions,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  make 
full  proof  of  thy  ministry."     2  Tim.  iv,  5. 

The  human  mind  can  not  grasp  a  higher  sense  of 
responsibility  than  that  with  which  the  watchman  for 
souls  is  invested.  He  recognizes  himself  and  should 
be  recognized  by  his  flock  as,  in  an  important  sense, 
his  brother's  keeper.  The  care  of  souls  rests  upon 
him  as  an  anxiety  for  which  he  can  have  no  relief 
but  in  their  salvation.  Yet  how  has  this  sacred  idea 
been  trifled  with  in  the  perfunctory  discharge  or  habit- 
ual neglect  of  pastoral  duties,  and  in  the  buying  and 
selling  of  curacies. 

3.  Overseers.  Oversight  is  the  essential  quality  of 
a  true  episcopal  office.  True  pastors,  according  to 
St.  Paul,  are  made  overseers  of  the  flock  of  God 
by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Peter  also  enjoins  the  duty  of 
oversight,  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly,  and  thus 
teaches  that  pastoral  oversight  is  not  that  of  a  task- 
master lording  it  over  God's  heritage,  but  rather  that 
of  the  tenderest  and  most  disinterested  solicitude  for 
the  welfare  of  each  member  of  the  flock.  It  is  the 
solicitude  of  the  nurse  for  her  charge.     "We  were 


PATERNAL  SOLICITUDE.  1 71 

gentle  among  you,  even  as  a  nurse  cherisheth  her 
children  ;  so,  being  affectionately  desirous  of  you,  we 
were  willing  to  have  imparted  unto  you  not  the  gos- 
pel of  God  only,  but  also  our  own  souls,  because  ye 
were  dear  unto  us."      i  Thess.  ii,  T,^. 

4.  Fathers,  The  apostolic  tenderness  and  solici- 
tude rose  higher  than  even  that  of  the  nurse,  and 
became  parental.  "Ye  know  how  we  exhorted,  and 
comforted,  and  charged  every  one  of  you  as  a  father 
doth  his  children."  I  Thess.  ii,  ii.  Again  the  same 
apostle  says  to  the  Corinthians:  "My  beloved  sons, 
I  warn  you.  For  though  ye  have  ten  thousand  in- 
structors in  Christ,  yet  have  ye  not  many  fathers:  for 
in  Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten  you  through  the 
gospel."  I  Cor.  iv,  14,  15-  Paul  also  enjoins  upon 
Timothy  filial  respect  toward  elders  in  the  Church. 
"  Rebuke  not  an  elder,  but  entreat  him  as  a  father." 
I  Tim.  V,  I.  Few  ideas  are  more  beautiful  than  that 
of  a  pastor  attaining  parental  influence  over  his  flock, 
and  of  his  people  gladly  according  to  him  parental 
oversight  of  their  most  sacred  interests. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  Churches  apply  the  term 
to  all  who  assume  the  clerical  office,  and  in  so  doing 
indicate  what  the  office  and.  its  possessor  ought  to  be. 
There  is  reason,  however,  to  think  that  the  apostolic 
idea  of  spiritual  fatherhood  as  an  attribute  of  the 
pastoral  office  is  less  comprehended  in  those  old  and 
spiritually  dead  Churches  than  in  the  living  Churches 
of  Protestant  countries.  On  the  part  of  the  people 
there  is  a  greater  appreciation,  amounting,  indeed,  to 
a  superstitious  reverence  for  the  clerical  office,  but 
on  the  part  of  the  clergy,  priests  so-called,  lax  views 


172  PLANTERS  AND  BUILDERS. 

of  spiritual  experience  and  obligation,  and  still  looser 
practice.  Happy  would  it  be  if  the  character  of  the 
true  Christian  father  were  exemplified  by  ministers 
of  every  branch  and  family  of  those  that  profess  and 
call  themselves  Christians. 

The  apostle  Paul  still  further  illustrates  pastoral 
duty  by  his  employment  of  agricultural  and  mechan- 
ical terms  in  reference  to  the  labor  which  ministers 
are  required  diligently  to  put  forth  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord.  According  to  his  impressive  statement  in 
the  third  chapter  of  first  Corinthians,  all  true  minis- 
ters are  "laborers  together  with  God."  Some  plant, 
some  water,  but  God  giveth  the  increase.  "Now  he 
that  planteth  and  he  that  watereth  are  one,  and  every 
man  shall  receive  his  own  reward  according  to  his 
own  labor."  Verse  8.  Dropping  this  figure  of  hus- 
bandry, the  apostle  proceeds  to  treat  of  the  Church 
as  "  God's  building,"  and  of  ministers  as, 

5.  Builders.  "According  to  the  grace  of  God  which 
is  given  unto  me,  as  a  wise  master-builder,  I  have  laid 
the  foundation,  and  another  buildeth  thereon.  But 
let  every  man  take  heed  how  he  buildeth  thereupon. 
For  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid, 
which  is  Jesus  Christ.  Now  if  any  man  build  upon 
this  foundation  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  wood, 
hay,  stubble,  every  man's  work  shall  be  made  mani- 
fest, for  the  day  shall  declare,  because  it  shall  be 
revealed  by  fire,  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's 
work  of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide 
which  he  hath  built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a 
reward.  If  any  man's  work  shall  be  burned,  he  shall 
suffer  loss."     i  Cor.  iii,  10-15. 


GOD'S    TEMPLE.  1 73 

In  this  language  of  the  inspired  apostle  the  respon- 
sibility of  the  minister  as  a  builder  for  God  is  strik- 
ingly set  forth.  Human  souls,  edified  (built  up)  with 
divine  truth,  will  form  a  glorious  temple  to  the  praise 
of  the  divine  goodness ;  but,  treated  with  the  untem- 
pered  mortar  or  the  worthless  material  of  human 
devising,  they  perish  in  the  hour  of  trial  and  become 
a  ruin,  while  the  souls  of  their  attempted  builders 
suffer  loss  and  are  exposed  to  eternal  jeopardy  from 
their  unwise  proceeding.  On  the  other  hand,  what  a 
glorious  privilege  it  is  to  build  for  God  on  the  ever- 
lasting foundation  laid  in  Zion !  Here  redeemed 
mortals  may  build  for  eternity,  rearing  structures  of 
Christian  life  and  character  which  the  tooth  of  time 
can  not  corrode  and  the  fires  of  the  judgment  can 
not  burn. 

6.  Stewards.  Kindred  to  the  idea  of  the  Church 
as  God's  building  is  that  of  ministerial  stewardship 
in  the  temples  which  they  labor  to  rear.  **  Let  a 
man  so  account  of  us,  as  of  the  ministers  of  Christ, 
and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God.  Moreover,  it 
is  required  in  stewards  that  a  man  be  found  faithful." 
I  Cor.  iv,  I,  2. 

As  fidelity  is  the  crowning  excellence  in  the  char- 
acter of  a  steward,  so  a  spotless  fidelity  is  essential 
in  administering  the  afiairs  of  God's  house  or  build- 
ing, the  Church.  The  pastor  needs  to  be  faithful  in 
all  his  duties — in  warning  every  man  and  teaching 
every  man,  in  rebuking  and  exhorting  with  all  long- 
suffering  and  doctrine,  as  well  as  in  study  and  in 
prayer — that,  as  a  man  of  God,  he  may  be  perfect  and 
thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works.     Christ  is 


174  FAITHFULNESS. 

referred  to  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  as  a  model 
of  fidelity — "a  merciful  and  faithful  high-priest  in 
things  pertaining  to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  for 
the  sins  of  the  people.  Wherefore,  holy  brethren, 
partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling,  consider  the  apos- 
tle and  high-priest  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus, 
who  was  faithful  to  him  that  appointed  him,  as  also 
Moses  was  faithful  in  all  his  house."  Heb.  ii,  17;  iii, 
I,  2.  The  term  faithful  is  applied  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  various  approved  ministers  and  apostles  as 
indicating  one  of  the  most  commendable  traits  of 
character.  "Epaphras,  our  dear  fellow-servant,  who 
is  for  you  a  faithful  minister  of  Christ."  Col.  i,  7. 
"Tychicus,  a  beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister  in 
the  Lord,  shall  make  known  to  you  all  things."  Eph. 
vi,  21.  "I  have  sent  unto  you  Timotheus,  who  is  my 
beloved  son  and  faithful  in  the  Lord."  i  Cor.  iv,  17. 
"I  [Paul]  give  my  judgment  as  one  that  has  obtained 
mercy  of  the  Lord  to  be  faithful."     i  Cor.  vii,  25. 

With  such  examples  for  his  guidance  and  encour- 
agement, the  modern  pastor  may  also  hope,  through 
the  divine  mercy  and  grace,  to  become  a  faithful 
steward  in  whatever  pertains  to  his  responsibilities 
to  God  and  the  Church. 

In  all  the  foregoing  diversified  expositions  of  pas- 
toral duty,  responsibility  appears  co-extensive  with 
obligation.  It  may  be  added  that  pastoral  respon- 
sibility is  intensified  by  two  great  considerations: 
(i.)  The  divine  appointment  of  the  pastoral  office. 
(2.)  The  nature  of  the  work  committed  to  it,  viz. :  the 
moral  and  spiritual  guardianship  of  immortal  souls. 
In  whatever  light  regarded,  the  pastoral  office  may 


THE   TRUE  SUCCESSION.  175 

be  seen  to  devolve  on  its  possessor  responsibilities  of 
unsurpassed  magnitude  and  importance.  It  is  not  an 
office  of  ceremony,  but  of  work,  {diar.oviav,  service — 2 
Cor.  iv,  I,)  of  trust,  of  care,  of  parental  solicitude,  of 
architectural  skill  as  a  builder  of  the  Church  on  the 
rock  Christ  Jesus,  and  of  religious  faithfulness  in 
things  pertaining  to  God,  whether  relating  to  time 
or  to  eternity.  Such  a  work  transcends  all  compari- 
son with  merely  human  or  secular  engagements. 

The  pastoral  office  has  thus  far  been  considered  in 
the  light  of  a  personal  agency,  and  as  such  alone  it 
is  sublime.  But  it  rises  to  a  still  grander  importance 
when  seen  to  be  invested  with  organic  power.  Pas- 
tors die,  but  the  Church  is  immortal.  Nevertheless, 
each  true  pastor,  by  faithful  service,  contributes  not 
only  to  the  perpetuation,  but  to  the  wider  extension 
of  the  Church.  A  Christian  shepherd  takes  the  over- 
sight of  souls.  Aggregately  they  form  a  single  flock. 
But  the  flock  is  designed  to  increase  in  numbers,  and 
with  its  growth  to  become  divisible,  forming  addi- 
tional flocks  and  founding  other  Churches,  each  of 
which  will  have  expansive  and  self-multiplying  power. 
Individuals  in  the  original  flock  and  in  every  Church 
that  may  grow  out  of  it  may,  under  pastoral  influence, 
be  themselves  called  to  the  ministry,  and  become,  in 
due  time,  the  founders  and  pastors  of  other  Churches 
which  shall  go  on  multiplying  to  the  end  of  time. 

"So  shall  the  bright  succession  run 
Through  all  the  courses  of  the  sun." 

See  what  has  followed  from  the  faithful  ministry 
of  the  apostles,  and  also  from  the  initial  labors  of 


J  76  OUR  SUFFICIENCY  OF  GOD. 

individual  ministers  in  various  countries,  as  Wesley 
in  England,  and  Asbury  in  America. 

While  in  human  history  comparatively  few  individ- 
uals will  stand  out  prominently  as  the  founders  of 
large  associated  Churches,  yet,  under  the  omniscience 
of  God  and  in  the  light  of  eternity,  every  minister's 
work  will  appear,  and  he  that  has  been  faithful  in  his 
lot  and  sphere  of  duty  will  have  a  reward  proportion- 
ate to  the  grandeur  of  the  success  he  has  done  his 
part  toward  accomplishing. 

Well  might  an  apostle  exclaim,  "  Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things  ?"  And  well  may  every  succeeding 
minister  follow  the  apostle  in  saying,  "Not  that  we 
are  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  think  any  thing  as  of  our- 
selves ;  but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God."     2  Cor.  iii,  5. 

Well,  too,  may  the  Church  continue  to  sing, 

'*  'T  is  not  a  cause  of  small  import 
The  pastor's  care  demands, 
But  what  might  fill  an  angel's  heart, 
And  filled  a  Savior's  hands. 

They  watch  for  souls  for  which  the  Lord 

Did  heavenly  bliss  forego  ; 
For  souls  which  must  forever  live 

In  raptures  or  in  woe." 


VARIETY  OF  TALENT.  1/7 


I 


CHAPTER  VI. 

QUALIFICATIONS    DESIRABLE    IN    A    CHRISTIAN 
PASTOR. 

N  view  of  the  high  and  sacred  designs  of  the 
Christian  pastorate,  many  important,  and  to  some 
extent  pecuUar,  qualifications  are  desirable  to  all  on 
whom  the  office  devolves.  It  is  not  indeed  to  be  ex- 
pected that  all  pastors  will  be  alike  in  their  tempera- 
ments or  endowments.  Nor  is  it  even  to  be  desired 
that  there  should  be  any  constrained  uniformity  in  the 
habits  or  characters  of  Christian  ministers.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Church  needs  in  its  service  precisely 
that  variety  of  talent  which  God  bestows  upon  men, 
and  which  divine  grace  can  adapt  to  the  great  and 
varied  purposes  of  Christianity.  Therefore,  as  the 
imitation  of  Christ  is  possible  and  necessary  to  be- 
Uevers  of  all  ages,  capacities,  and  circumstances,  and 
as  in  education  the  same  elementary  studies  are  nec- 
essary to  the  development  of  all  grades  and  varieties 
of  talent,  so  in  the  Christian  pastorate  the  same  ge- 
neric virtues  may  be  commended  to  the  acquisition  of 
all  who  are  called  to  the  office  without  any  fear  of 
marring  individuahty,  or  producing  undesirable  same- 
ness as  a  result. 

It  is  important  for  young  men  contemplating  minis- 
terial life  to  set  before  their  minds  a  high  and  just 


178  EXPERIENCE  OF  PIETY. 

Standard  of  attainments  and  character  at  which  to  aim. 
In  so  doing,  advantage  will  be  gained  by  adopting  a 
comprehensive  classification.  For  example,  the  lead- 
ing qualifications  desirable  in  Christian  pastors  may 
be  grouped  under  three  generic  heads — Experience, 
Knowledge,  Character. 

I.  Experience.  No  inexperienced  man  is  qualified 
to  have  the  care  and  leadership  of  a  Christian  Church, 
or  the  responsible  oversight  of  souls.  "  Not  a  nov- 
ice," says  St.  Paul ;  and  yet  St.  Paul  recognized  the 
youthful  Timothy  as  a  worthy  leader  in  the  apostolic 
Church,  and  charged  him,  "  Let  no  man  despise  thy 
youth,  but  be  thou  an  example  of  the  believers,  in 
word,  in  conversation,  in  charity,  in  spirit,  in  faith,  in 
purity."  This,  moreover,  is  what  every  pastor,  how- 
ever young,  should  aim  to  do  and  to  be. 

Experience  is  of  various  kinds.  Sometimes  it  is 
easily  and  sometimes  slowly  and  painfully  acquired. 
Youth  may  make  rapid  progress  in  its  acquisition,  and 
advanced  age  rarely,  if  ever,  gets  beyond  the  possi- 
biUty  of  profiting  by  its  instructions.  To  begin  at 
the  foundation,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  every  candi- 
date for  the  pastoral  office  should  have  a  genuine 
experience  of, 

I.  Piety.  His  piety  should  be  sincere,  earnest,  deep, 
growing.  He  who  would  be  instrumental  in  the  con- 
version of  sinners  must  himself  know  what  conversion 
is.  He  who  would  lead  men  in  the  path  of  life  must 
have  already  trod  that  narrow  way,  and  be  actually 
treading  in  it.  He  who  would  teach  the  truth  must 
both  comprehend  and  exemplify  the  truth.  He  who 
would  feed  the  sheep  of  Christ's  fold,  and  lead  them 


FAVORABLE  CONDITIONS.  1/9 

to  living  fountains  of  waters,  must  have  himself  tasted 
"  the  hidden  manna"  and  have  drank  water  at  the  well 
of  salvation.  He  who  would  make  every  man  perfect 
in  Christ  Jesus,  must  have  himself  learned  to  love  the 
Lord  his  God  with  all  his  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as 
himself  The  Christian  minister,  therefore,  should 
aim  to  be  a  model  of  enlightened  and  consistent  piety 
both  for  the  sake  of  his  own  soul's  welfare  and  the 
highest  good  of  others.  *  Such  a  result  is  not  to  be 
attained  by  good  wishes,  assumptions,  or  professions 
merely,  although  it  is  doubtless  a  duty  to  profess 
whatever  state  of  grace  one  is  enabled  to  enjoy.  Es- 
sential to  it  are  habits  of  devotion,  and  sincere  and 
constant  efforts  to  attain  the  mind  that  was  also  in 
Christ. 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  ministers  have  many  ad- 
vantages for  a  life  of  piety.  All  the  precepts-  and 
promises  of  God's  word  have  their  primary  and  high- 
est application  to  them.  Their  associations  and  em- 
ployments are  favorable  to  religious  enjoyment  and 
progress  ;  very  different,  indeed,  from  those  of  men 
of  business,  whose  time  and  attention  are  necessarily 
engrossed  with  secular  cares  and  conversation.  But 
the  ministerial  calling  is  not  in  itself  a  guarantee  for 
true  or  continued  piety.  Indeed,  ministers  are  subject 
to  some  peculiar  difficulties  and  temptations.  They 
are  sometimes  flattered,  and  in  danger  of  yielding  to 
vain  thoughts.  They  are  often  made  the  subjects  of 
extraordinary  confidence  ;  while,  at  other  times,  they 
are  unjustly  persecuted;  whereas  the  repetition  of 
religious  duties  sometimes  tends  to  dead  formalism 
and  perilous  lukewarmness.     Hence  it  is  well  not  to 


l80  DIVINE   CALL. 

forget  that  with  all  their  advantages,  helps,  and  mo- 
tives to  eminent  piety,  there  ever  exists  a  fearful  pos- 
sibility of  ministerial  apostasy.  Even  the  apostle 
Paul  did  not  disguise  his  deep  concern,  "lest  that 
by  any  means  when  he  had  preached  to  others  he 
himself  should  be  a  castaway." 

The  minister's  grand  and  unfailing  source  of  safety, 
as  against  all  such  dangers,  is  provided  for  by  our 
Savior's  caution  to  his  disciples,  "  Watch  and  pray, 
lest  ye  enter  into  temptation."  The  minister  who  is 
entirely  consecrated  to  his  work,  and  diligent  in  the 
divine  service,  may  not  only  hope  to  escape  the  dan- 
ger of  lukewarmness  and  apostasy,  but  to  secure  en- 
couragements to  piety  and  faithfulness  rarely  accorded 
to  other  men.  The  consciousness  of  doing  good  may 
be  his  daily,  hourly  joy,  and  having  an  eye  single  to 
the  divine  glory,  his  whole  body  may  be  full  of  light. 
It  may  next  be  remarked,  that  every  pastor  should 
have  a  definite  experience  of, 

2.  A  divine  call  to  the  ministry.  This  experience 
should  be  something  more  than  a  conviction  of  the 
superior  dignity  of  the  clerical  office,  or  of  the  proba- 
bility of  greater  usefulness  in  it  than  in  any  other 
calling.  It  needs  to  be  the  realization  of  the  divine 
voice  speaking  to  the  heart,  and  saying,  "go,"  "preach," 
"  teach."  Whether  prior  or  subsequent  to  conversion, 
it  needs  to  have  passed  into  the  moral  history  of  the 
individual  that  he  is  moved  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take 
upon  him  the  office  of  the  ministry,  and  that  he  has 
accepted  the  sacred  mandate  as  the  guidance  and 
prompting  of  his  future  life.  For  further  details  of 
the  nature  of  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry,  and  of  the 


CHURCH  LIFE,  l8l 

varied  experiences  through  which  it  is  made  known, 
reference  is  made  to  chapters  II  and  III,  in  which  the 
subject  is  discussed  at  length.  Candidates  for  the 
pastoral  office  should  have  an  experience  of, 

3.  Church  life  and  labors.  No  theory  is  more  erro- 
neous than  that  which,  under  whatever  pretense,  with- 
holds a  candidate  for  the  ministry  from  responsible 
Christian  labor  until  his  admission  to  holy  orders  or 
to  pastoral  appointment.  Indeed,  that  young  man 
who  would  excuse  himself  from  effort  to  win  souls 
and  build  up  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  till  after  he  had 
completed  his  education  and  been  formally  appointed 
as  a  public  teacher,  would  by  such  a  course  throw 
grave  doubts  both  upon  the  reality  of  his  call  to  the 
ministry  and  of  his  fitness  for  the  sacred  vocation. 
And  that  Church  which  would  hedge  young  men 
about  with  restrictions  or  formalities  that  practically 
deter  them  from  suitable  religious  activities,  and  even 
responsibilities,  little  deserves  to  have  thoroughly 
trained  and  efficient  pastors.  Nor  would  it  relieve 
the  case  of  the  supposed  young  man  that  he  should 
profess  great  willingness  to  serve  the  Church,  but 
only  in  a  clerical  way,  and  when  put  forward  in  a 
representative  capacity.  The  truth  is,  that  both  the 
candidate  and  the  Church  need  all  the  probation  that 
can  be  secured  for  the  development  of  the  one  and 
the  satisfaction  of  the  other,  prior  to  the  consumma- 
tion of  so  great  a  mutual  responsibility  as  the  ordi- 
nation or  public  appointment  of  a  Christian  pastor. 
But  this  probation,  in  its  earlier  stages,  needs  to  be 
informally  secured  by  the  spontaneous  though  regu- 
lated action  of  the  one,  and  the  friendly  and  char- 


1 82  SUNDAY-SCHOOLS, 

itable  encouragement  of  the  other.  Happily  the 
circumstances  of  the  present  age  are  favorable  t.o 
the  early  and  safe  cultivation  of  a  valuable  experi- 
ence on  the  part  of  young  Christians,  which,  in  the 
case  of  those  called  to  the  ministry,  may  prove  the 
basis  of  constantly  increasing  qualifications  for  the 
sacred  office. 

\|  The  majority  of  those  who  become  ministers  of  the 
gospel  at  the  present  period,  whether  trained  in  Chris- 
tian families  or  not,  enter  the  Church  through  the 
training  of  the  Sunday-schoo|  They  consequently, 
from  early  life,  have  great  "opportunities  of  observing 
the  routine  of  Church  labor,  and  of  imbibing  its  spirit 
and  habits. 

Not  to  enlarge  upon  the  universal  duty  of  Christian 
usefulness,  it  is  specially  in  point  here  to  say,  that 
from  the  moment  a  young  man  feels  himself  moved  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  should  gladly 
and  earnestly  enter  upon  every  opportunity  afforded 
him  to  work  for  the  divine  Master,  however  indirectly 
it  may  at  first  seem  tributary  to  the  peculiar  ob- 
jects on  which  his  heart  will  thenceforth  converge  its 
thoughts  and  energies.  Is  it  to  work  in  the  Sunday- 
school  }  Here  is  a  field  in  which  the  most  valuable 
experience  may  be  acquired.  Biblical  studies,  with  ref- 
erence to  imparting  knowledge  and  explaining  truth — 
face-to-face  converse  with  the  young  —  visiting  the 
poor,  the  prodigal,  and  the  careless,  to  gather  in  schol- 
ars— acts  of  benevolence  to  relieve  the  wretched  and 
the  vicious  —  feeding  the  hungry  and  clothing  the 
naked — distributing  tracts — visiting  the  sick  and  the 
imprisoned — these  and  all  similar  acts  required  in  the 


.       BIBLE  CLASSES.  1 83 

prosecution  of  Sunday-school  work,  especially  among 
the  destitute,  will  tend  to  show  a  young  man  what 
manner  of  spirit  he  is  of,  and  whether  he  will  or  will 
not  be  able,  through  grace,  to  bear  the  yoke  of  the 
Master.  If,  as  is  to  be  expected  of  the  sincere  Chris- 
tian, he  finds  himself  strengthened  by  these  labors 
of  love,  and  the  trials  to  which  they  will  subject  him, 
he  will  thus  be  gaining  strength  for  sterner  conflicts, 
and  wisdom  for  greater  responsibilities.  No  oppor- 
tunity, therefore,  to  work  in  the  Sunday-school  should 
be  omitted  by  one  contemplating,  however  remotely, 
the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office.  Indeed,  it  is  well 
for  the  ministerial  candidate,  in  the  course  of  his 
Sunday-schQol  life,  to  participate  actively  in  different 
branches  of  the  work.  It  is  desirable  that  he  should 
have  practice  if  competent,  and  if  not,  time  and  dili- 
gence will  enable  him  to  become  so,  in  teaching  juve- 
nile classes,  infant  classes,  Bible  classes,  and  even 
normal  classes.  Besides,  he  may  profit  by  learning 
to  discharge  properly  the  duties  of  an  officer  in  the 
Sunday-school,  whether  that  of  secretary,  librarian, 
or  superintendent.  Work  in  Sunday-schools,  in  any 
or  all  of  these  forms,  will  secure  to  him  experience 
valuable  for  his  future  duties,  in  proportion  to  the 
earnestness  and  thoroughness  with  which  he  has  pros- 
ecuted it.  Indeed,  the  minister  trained  up  in  this 
manner,  will  in  his  turn  understand,  as  no  other  one 
can,  the  duties  of  a  pastor  to  his  Sunday-school. 
Though  young,  he  will  not  be  an  amateur,  but  a  vet- 
eran soldier  in  this  corps  of  the  army  of  the  Lord. 
Thenceforward  he  can  stand  as  a  minute-man  ready 
to  do  duty  in  whatever  part  of  the  ranks  there  may 


1 84  PRAYER   FOR  LABORERS. 

be  a  temporary  necessity,  thereby  cheering  the  whole 
host  with  his  presence  and  example. 

Perhaps  a  word  may  here  be  fitly  said  to  pastors 
now  in  service,  as  well  as  to  the  officers  and  teachers 
of  Sunday-schools.  You  doubtless  recognize  the  duty 
of  praying  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  would  send 
forth  laborers  into  his  harvest.  Has  it  occurred  to 
you  that  if  you  sincerely  offer  that  prayer,  God  may 
enable  you  instrumentally  to  answer  it  in  your  several 
spheres  of  labor  t  In  this  conviction  ought  you  not 
to  be  looking  out  for  special  subjects  of  that  prayer; 
and,  having  discovered  them,  ought  you  not  also  to 
encourage  them  to  make  special  preparation  for  the 
work }  ''  Kind  words  never  die  ;"  and  as  God  sent 
Ananias  to  the  converted  Saul  of  Tarsus  to  explain 
to  him  his  duty  of  preaching  to  the  Gentiles,  perhaps 
he  may  have  a  similar  work  for  you  to  do  in  reference 
to  some  obscure  but  pious  youth  now  in  danger  of 
being  overlooked  by  the  Church  and  the  world.  The 
proper  discharge  of  your  duty  may  be  to  that  youth 
the  starting-point  in  a  career  of  ministerial  or  mis- 
sionary influence  that  shall  run  on  forever. 

-Again,  if  you  have  in  your  Sunday-schools  those 
who,  though  young,  feel  themselves  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the  gospel,  do  not  flatter  them 
by  compliments  or  injudicious  attentions,  but  give 
them  opportunities  to  work,  which  shall  test  both 
their  zeal  and  their  judgment.  If  they  fail  at  first, 
deal  kindly  with  them,  and  give  them  an  opportunity 
to  try  again.  If  they  succeed,  encourage  them  to 
attempt  still  greater  things  for  God,  and  in  all  cir- 
cumstances be  not  indifferent  to  the  fact  that  their 


HOME  MISSIONAR  V  WORK,  1 8  5 

accumulating  experience  is  a  part  of  the  instrumen- 
tality by  which  they  may  be  fitted  for  the  public 
service  of  the  sanctuary  and  the  pastoral  office.  In 
suitable  candidates  becoming  thus  fitted  in  ever- 
increasing  numbers,  the  whole  Church  should  feel  a 
constant  and  growing  interest. 

Preliminary  experience  in  Church  life  and  labor  is 
not  limited  to  Sunday-schools.  Young  men  are  often 
called  to  take  part  in  more  public  efforts  to  reform 
the  morals  and  save  the  souls  of  men  ;  sometimes  as 
exhorters  or  lay  preachers,  and  sometimes  as  prayer 
leaders,  or  helpers  in  some  other  species  of  religious 
activity,  such  as  the  systematic  visitation  of  jails, 
almshouses,  or  hospitals.  In  fact,  every  branch  of 
home  mission-work  requires  the  co-operation  of  strong- 
hearted  young  men,  and  in  every  branch  of  Christian 
usefulness  the  candidate  for  the  ministry  may  gain 
experience  that  will  increase  his  qualifications  for  fu- 
ture and  higher  service  in  the  Church.  As  daily 
occupation  in  any  mechanical  pursuit  habituates  the 
muscles  to  the  required  form  of  action,  and  the  mind 
to  a  more  perfect  comprehension  of  the  material  on 
which  it  works,  so  diligent  Christian  occupation,  even 
in  early  life,  tends  effectively  to  the  acquisition  of 
habits  and  experiences  that  will  contribute  greatly  to 
success  in  the  pastoral  office.  Specially  should  the 
ministerial  candidate  have  experience  of, 

4.  The  power  and  pleasure  of  exerting  good  injluences 
a7td  of  accomplishing  results.  Too  many  seem  to  ex- 
pect results  to  come  to  them,  rather  than  to  spring 
from  them.  They  consequently  drift  into  public  life, 
and  wait  for  events  to  happen,  instead  of  entering  it 

16 


1 86  SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 

determined,  with  God's  help,  to  make  them  happen. 
As  "it  is  a  good  thing  for  a  man  to  "bear  the  yoke 
in  his  youth,"  so  it  is  well  for  intending  ministers  to 
learn  early  that  good  and  great  results  are  rarely  if 
ever  accomplished  without  definite  conceptions,  judi- 
cious plans,  and  earnest  efforts. 

11.  Knowledge.  Solomon  says — Prov.  xix,  2 — 
"that  the  soul  be  without  knowledge  it  is  not  good." 
If  this  is  true  in  application  to  men  generally,  how 
especially  true  is  it  with  reference  to  ministers  of  the 
gospel !  They  not  only  go  before  mankind  as  teach- 
ers, and  hence  ought  to  be  competent  to  instruct,  but 
as  teachers  of  heavenly  wisdom,  and  as  representa- 
tives of  a  system  of  truth  which  claims  superiority 
over  all  other  systems.  For  such  persons  to  be  with- 
out knowledge  in  high  and  creditable  degrees  is  not 
only  to  incur  great  risk  of  failure,  but  the  hazard  of 
dishonoring  the  cause  they  profess  to  love. 

It  is  to  be  presumed  that  actual  or  intending  pas- 
tors will  set  a  high  value  upon  knowledge  for  its  own 
sake,  and  that  they  will  value  it  still  more  highly  as 
an  element  of  success  in  the  ministry  to  which  they 
feel  themselves  called.  For  their  objects  the  depart- 
ments of  knowledge  admit  of  a  classification  somewhat 
peculiar,  involving,  indeed,  what  belongs  to  the  most 
complete  educational  system,  but  distributing  the  top- 
ics with  reference  to  the  central  idea  of  moral  influence. 

I,  Self-k7iowledge.  This  is  a  very  comprehensive 
theme.  It  involves  just  conceptions  of  what  relates 
to  one's  physical,  mental,  and  moral  being. 

(i.)  It  is  of  great  importance  for  a  Christian  min- 
ister to  understand  well  his  own  physical  capacities 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  KNOWLEDGE.  1 8/ 

and  necessities.  Neither  Christians  nor  ministers,  as 
such,  have  any  exemption  from  the  various  physical 
ills  to  which  humanity  is  subject.  Indeed,  it  has 
sometimes  happened  that,  through  inattention  to 
what  has  seemed  to  them  of  too  small  importance, 
they  have  become  extraordinary  sufferers.  If  in  any 
system  of  education  of  which  a  minister  or  minis- 
terial candidate  has  had  the  advantage,  the  subject 
of  human  physiology  has  not  been  embraced,  he 
should  forthwith  make  it  a  special  study.  Nor 
should  he  content  himself  with  theoretical  knowl- 
edge, but  rather  apply  the  principles  of  the  science 
to  his  personal  habits  in  reference  to  diet,  sleep, 
exercise,  and  the  proper  care  and  use  of  his  physical 
powers,  specially  of  speech  and  of  vision.  While  it 
is  possible  so  to  employ  one's  eyes  and  voice  as  con- 
tinually to  gain  accuracy  of  perception  and  power 
and  ease  of  expression,  it  is  more  than  possible,  by 
wrong  courses,  to  seriously,  if  not  fatally  injure  both. 
Intelligent  and  scrupulous  care  in  the  avoidance  of 
all  bad  habits,  such  as  the  use  of  narcotics  and  stim- 
ulants, and  in  the  practice  of  habits  of  neatness,  reg- 
ularity, and  temperance,  may  enable  any  one  to  say, 
as  did  Paul,  in  reference  to  physical  discipline  as  an 
agency  of  spiritual  results :  "  Every  man  that  striveth 
for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in  all  things.  Now  they 
do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown,  but  we  an  incor- 
ruptible. I  therefore  so  run,  not  as  uncertainly;  so 
fight  I,  not  as  one  that  beateth  the  air:  but  I  keep 
under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection:  lest 
that  by  any  means,  when.  I  have  preached  to  others, 
I  myself  should  be  a  castaway."     i  Cor.  ix,  25-27. 


1 88  MENTAL  ADAPTATIONS. 

(2.)  The  minister  should  be  able  to  form  a  just 
estimate  of  his  own  mental  capacity  and  adaptations. 
He  should  not  only  be  well  acquainted  with  mental 
science  for  the  sake  of  the  rich  fund  of  knowledge  to 
which  it  will  introduce  him,  but  also  especially  as  a 
help  to  a  comprehension  of  the  nature  and  uses  of 
the  powers  with  which  he  has  himself  been  endowed 
by  his  Creator.  It  is  possible  for  an  individual  to 
determine,  without  either  self-flattery  or  personal  dis- 
couragement, what  at  least  are  his  relative  capacities 
for  the  various  acquisitions  necessary  to  the  discharge 
of  ministerial  duties.  To  do  so  is,  in  a  high  degree, 
necessary  to  successful  self-culture.  When  ignorance 
is  so  profound  as  not  to  comprehend  the  necessity 
and  attractions  of  knowledge,  its  effect  is  kindred  to 
that  of  an  overweening  estimate  of  one's  own  abil- 
ities. Both  tend  to  indolence  and  incompetency. 
Well  did  the  wise  man  say,  "  Before  knowledge  is 
humility,"  and  it  is  seldom  found  that  persons  make 
earnest  efforts  for  improvement  until  they  become 
penetrated  with  a  deep  conviction  of  its  present  or 
prospective  necessity.  When,  however,  the  feeling 
of  a  need  of  knowledge  and  of  personal  cultivation 
is  accompanied  by  a  consciousness  of  power  to  attain 
both,  encouraging  progress  may  be  expected. 

While,  during  the  course  of  an  education,  it  is 
important  to  cultivate  all  the  mental  powers  in  a 
harmonious  balance,  especially  those  which  are  least 
active  or  weakest  in  the  discharge  of  public  duty,  it 
is  proper  to  discriminate  in  favor  of  those  faculties 
of  the  mind  and  those  departments  of  knowledge 
which  are  most  constantly  and  urgently  called  into 


HUMAN  WEAKNESS.  1 89 

requisition.  In  fact,  it  becomes  an  imperative  duty 
of  a  Christian  minister  to  focalize  both  his  studies 
and  his  energies  upon  the  supreme  and  peculiar 
objects  of  his  high  calling,  not  being  unmindful  of 
the  intimate  relations  subsisting  between  healthful 
mental  and  spiritual  development. 

(3.)  Not  less  important  to  every  minister  is  a 
knowledge  of  his  own  moral  weaknesses,  whether  of 
temper,  of  self-esteem,  of  ambition,  of  desire  for  ease, 
or  whatever  else  is  contrary  to  the  mind  that  was  in 
Christ.  Probably  this  species  of  knowledge  is  most 
difficult  of  all  to  acquire.  It  is  a  common  fault  of 
our  humanity  to  think  more  highly  of  ourselves  than 
we  ought  to  think,  and  yet  there  are  cases  of  morbid 
self-distrust  and  under-valuation  equally  injurious  to 
those  who  cherish  them.  If  we  would  have  truth 
written  upon  our  hearts  we  should  conceive  it  in  our 
judgments  and  employ  every  just  agency  for  its  ac- 
quisition in  reference  to  matters  so  closely  allied  to 
our  happiness  and  usefulness. 

The  following  are  prominent  agencies  of  this  spe- 
cies of  knowledge:  a.  Self-examination,  accompanied 
by  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  prayer,  b.  The 
conversation  and  counsel  of  competent  and  faithful 
friends,  c.  The  perusal  of  good  books  on  the  sub- 
ject, such  as  Mason  on  Self-Knowledge,  Edmondson 
on  Self -Government,  and  Clark's  Mental  Discipline. 
Several  of  Mr.  Wesley's  sermons  are  excellent  in 
view  of  the  same  object,  e.  g.,  those  on  "Wandering 
thoughts,"  "  Satan's  devices,"  and  "  On  a  single  eye." 

The  advantages  of  self-knowledge  in  reference  to 
our  mental  and  moral   nature  are  manifold.     It  aids 


IQO  KNOWLEDGE   OF  MEN. 

its  possessor  in  fixing  attention,  controlling  thought, 
banishing  dreamy  reveries,  governing  desires,  and  in 
rightly  ordering  his  words.  In  all  these  respects  a 
pastor  needs  to  be  a  model  of  propriety,  purity,  and 
practical  holiness. 

2.  The  knowledge  of  society  and  of  men.  The  pas- 
toral office  inducts  a  man  into  public  life,  and  brings 
him  into  association  with  persons  of  all  grades  and 
classes  of  society.  The  pastor  consequently  needs 
to  know  what  is  becoming  to  his  position  and  duty 
in  all  varieties  of  circumstances.  His  knowledge  on 
this  point  will  come  less  from  the  precepts  of  others 
than  from  careful  observation  of  the  customs  of  good 
society,  coupled  with  thoughtful  consideration  as  to 
what  is  inherently  fitting. 

JTWhile  it  is  not  desirable  for  ministers  to  be  versed 
in  the  etiquette  and  hollow  ceremonies  of  merely 
fashionable  society,  it  is  important  that  they  should 
study  the  subject  of  manners  from  an  intelligent  and 
Christian  point  of  viewj  If  "he  that  winneth  souls 
is  wise,"  it  can  not  be"  unwise  in  any  one  so  far  to 
study  the  best  modes  of  access  to  those  whom  he 
would  influence  for  good  by  private  as  well  as  by 
public  address. 

Pastors  are  expected  to  be  the  faithful  counselors 
and  spiritual  advisers  of  persons  of  various  classes 
and  circumstances.  Hence  they  need  the  capacity 
of  commanding  respect  and  securing  confidence.  In 
the  discharge  of  pastoral  duties  of  all  kinds  it  is 
specially  important  to  be  able  to  discern  and  rightly 
estimate  the  dispositions  and  characters  of  men. 
This    ability    is    sometimes    called    a   knowledge    of 


WISDOM  FROM  ABOVE.  191 

human  nature.  When  this  species  of  knowledge  is 
sanctified,  as  it  ever  ought  to  be  in  the  case  of  the 
Christian  minister,  it  is  kindred  to  the  charism  of 
the  early  Church  called  the  discerning  of  spirits. 
For  it,  as  a  gift  of  great  value,  it  is  no  doubt  our 
duty  to  pray,  as  well  as  to  strive  by  other  appropri- 
ate means,  coveting  it  earnestly.  In  addition  to  ear- 
nestly seeking  the  wisdom  that  cometh  down  from 
above  in  reference  to  this  subject,  we  may  expect  to 
increase  our  comprehension  of  it  by  aid  of  the  three 
great  sources  of  knowledge — observation,  reading,  and 
reflection.  While  reading,  accompanied  by  reflection, 
is  of  great  importance  in  reference  to  the  present 
topic,  it  is  conceded  that  mere  book-learning  can  not 
impart  the  acquisition  desired.  Men  must  be  seen 
in  the  actual  jostle  and  business  of  life  in  order  to 
understand  their  ways,  to  penetrate  the  depths  of 
their  character,  and  to  know  how  to  address  them 
most  effectually  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Hence 
the  study  of  mankind  may  very  properly  be  extended 
to  the  various  engagements  in  which  men  are  occu- 
pied. Indeed,  an  acquaintance  with  any  practical 
business,  learned  possibly  in  early  life,  may  be  ren- 
dered of  no  small  service  in  furtheThig  the  objects 
of  Christian  address,  and  thus  may  be  made,  at  least 
indirectly,  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  Church  by 
pastoral  agency. 

3.  A  knowledge  of  books.  Books  form  the  mental 
treasury  of  the  world.  Without  them  we  should  be 
no  wiser  now  than  had  we  lived  a  hundred  generations 
ago.  By  means  of  books  we  can  look  into  the  past  as 
into  a  mirror,  and  perceive  the  tendencies  and  results 


192  KNOWLEDGE   OF  BOOKS, 

of  human  actions  under  every  variety  of  circumstances. 
In  them,  as  in  a  store-house,  we  can  find  the  treasures 
of  knowledge  accumulated  by  the  study  and  mental 
toil  of  ages  past.  Books  are  the  vehicles  and  auxil- 
iaries of  every  species  of  knowledge.  Books  facilitate 
education,  and  the  necessity  of  education  increases 
with  the  multiplication  of  books.  The  fact  that  one 
person  studies  books  makes  it  obligatory  upon  others 
to  do  the  same.  Thus,  with  increasing  privileges, 
increased  labor  is  devolved  on  humanity.  In  a  com- 
munity of  savages  it  would  matter  httle  whether  an 
individual  was  taught  letters  or  not.  Though  grossly 
ignorant,  he  might  be  as  wise  as  his  fellows.  But 
in  an  enlightened  community  the  lack  of  instruction, 
however  great  one's  native  powers,  would  doom  him 
to  perpetual  inferiority.  How  pitiable,  then,  is  the 
ignorance  of  one  who  has  no  knowledge  of  books !  In 
an  age  and  in  circumstances  like  ours,  it  can  only 
be  tolerated  in  childhood,  following  which  a  score  or 
more  of  years  need  to  be  devoted  to  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge  largely  through  their  instrumentality. 
How  is  it  possible  for  an  honest  man  to  come  before 
the  public  as  a  religious  teacher  and  maintain  at  once 
his  self-respect,  and  the  respect  of  his  hearers,  without 
having  acquired,  in  some  reputable  degree,  a  knowl-' 
edge  of  books  .-*  And  yet  the  world  of  books  is  so  vast 
that  no  one  man  can  fully  traverse  it.  As  the  great- 
est geographers  have  only  been  able  to  pass  over  a 
small  part  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  yet  sufficient  to 
enable  them  jointly  to  portray  the  continental  divis- 
jpns  of  the  globe,  so,  in  bibliography,  it  is  easy  and 
\well   to  map  out  the   great  generic  divisions  of  lit- 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  BOOKS.  1 93 

erature  which  have  been  recognized  by  the  best  bib- 
liographers of  successive  generations.  These  are,  i. 
Theology.  2.  Jurisprudence.  3.  Science  and  art.  4. 
History.  5.  Belles-lettres.  ^  To  each  of  these  classes 
of  books  belong  numeroliT  subdivisions.  For  instance, 
in  reference  to  education  in  the  several  departments, 
books  are  elementary,  scientific,  and  professional. 
There  are  also,  in  every  department,  books  for  study, 
for  reading,  and  for  reference.  Besides,  each  depart- 
ment and  sub-department  has  its  own  bibliography, 
which,  when  augmented  by  the  history  of  authors, 
becomes,  in  many  cases,  voluminous. 

These  remarks  are  simply  designed  to  suggest,  in 
the  briefest  manner,  the  great  but  interesting  task  in 
reference  to  books,  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
is  placed  before  every  one  who  contemplates  the  posi- 
tion of  a  public  religious  teacher.  Indeed,  a  large 
familiarity  with  books,  in  various  other  departments, 
is  essentially  necessary  to  what  must  ever  be  the  great 
and  binding  duty  of  the  Christian  minister. 

4.  An  acquaintmice  with  theology.  God  has  com- 
mitted the  revelation  of  the  most  important  truth  to 
books,  and  has  thus  imposed  upon  teachers  of  that 
truth  the  necessity  of  special  study.  To  affirm  that  a 
Christian  minister  should  understand  theology  seems 
like  the  utterance  of  a  truism.  And  yet  theology  is 
a  subject  of  such  vastness  and  depth  that  we  may 
well  hesitate  to  affirm  that  any  human  being  under- 
stands it.  After  their  best  exertions  and  most  pro- 
tracted efforts,  the  best  minds  are  constrained  to 
exclaim,  "  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God !     How  unsearchable 

17 


194  STUDY  OF  THEOLOGY. 

are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out ! 
For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who 
hath  been  his  counselor  ?"     Rom.  xi,  33,  34. 

While  this  class  of  considerations  should,  on  the 
one  hand,  teach  us  humility,  on  the  other,  it  should 
stimulate  within  us  the  most  ardent  desire  to  know 
what  is  proper  and  possible  of  God,  his  attributes,  his 
works,  and  his  revealed  will.  When  an  embassador 
of  a  government  goes  forth  to  a  foreign  nation,  he 
seeks  and  is  entitled  to  receive  instructions  to  enable 
him  to  rightly  represent  the  views  and  interests  of  the 
sovereign  or  authority  by  which  he  is  sent.  So  the 
embassador  of  Christ  needs  to  be  thoroughly  in- 
structed in  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  King  eternal  has  provided  that  he  may 
be  thus  instructed,  and  any  neglect  to  secure  such 
instruction  must  be  his  own,  and  withal  a  fearful  one 
to  answer  for. 

Whoever  would  be  successful  in  theological  study 
should  lay  a  timely  and  broad  foundation  of  general 
knowledge,  and  secure  a  liberal  and  thorough  disci- 
pline of  his  mental  powers.  The  very  nature  of 
theological  science  demands  the  largest  practicable 
preliminary  culture.  While  the  most  essential  truths 
of  Christianity  can  be  apprehended,  so  far  as  is  essen- 
tial to  salvation,  by  persons  of  the  least  ability,  yet  no 
one  can  hope  to  grasp  the  higher  and  ultimate  truths 
which  theology  involves  without  much  preliminary 
study.  Besides,  as  the  facts  of  science,  history,  and 
philosophy  are  merely  the  counterpart  of  revealed 
truth,  they  demand  to  be  studied,  as  containing  an 
illimitable  fund  of  corroborations  by  which  revealed 


DOCTRINAL   AND   HISTORICAL,  195 

truth  may  be  confirmed  and  illustrated.  An  under- 
standing of  theology,  as  it  ought  to  be  studied  at  the 
present  day,  will  comprehend  a  due  knowledge  of  the 
several  departments  into  which  the  general  subject  is 
distributed,  as  the  result  of  modern  scholarship. 

1.  Biblical  theology  demands  primary  attention.  It 
involves  an  acquaintance  with  the  original  languages 
of  the  holy  Scriptures ;  the  science  of  interpretation 
and  criticism  ;  the  history,  character,  and  value  of 
manuscripts  ;  a  knowledge  of  the  editions  and  ver- 
sions of  the  Bible  ;  an  acquaintance  with  the  works 
of  the  most  able  commentators,  and  the  mode  of  ap- 
propriating the  best  results  of  their  investigations 
with  facility  and  judgment ;  but,  above  all,  the  stu- 
dent, in  this  department,  should  covet,  and  if  possible 
acquire,  the  capacity  of  making  correct  interpretations 
of  Scripture,  and  judicious  expositions  of  their  deep- 
est meaning,  both  for  himself,  as  a  practical  Christian, 
and  for  those  who  come  under  his  instruction. 

2.  Doctrinal  theology  is  designed  to  state  the  re- 
sults of  biblical  or  exegetical  theology  in  a  systematic 
form.  It  involves  not  only  the  positive  statement  of 
correct  opinions,  but  the  refutation  of  errors,  and  a 
historical  knowledge  of  the  rise  of  systems  of  doc- 
trine both  true  and  false.  Its  principal  departments 
are  those  of  Natural  and  Revealed  religion.  Evidences 
and  Polemics,  including  the  great  questions  of  philos- 
ophy and  the  refutation  of  heathen  and  infidel  objec- 
tions to  Christianity. 

3.  Historical  theology  embraces  the  sacred  history 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  the  detailed 
narrative  of  events  resulting  directly  and  indirectly 


196  PRACTICAL   THEOLOGY, 

from  the  establishment  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Church  history  portrays  the  influence  of  Christian- 
ity upon  the  life  and  character  of  individuals,  com- 
munities, and  nations.  .  It  describes  the  rise  and 
decline  of  heretical  sects,  the  insidious  entrance  of 
error  and  corruption  into  the  Church  itself,  and  the 
ultimate  progress  of  Christianity  in  spite  of  all  op- 
posing and  retarding  influences.  The  history  of  the 
Church  describes  the  rise  of  various  systems  of 
Church  government,  and  the  influence  of  Christianity 
upon  civilization,  upon  the  arts  and  sciences,  upon 
education,  legislation,  slavery,  war,  and  peace,  and 
indeed  upon  whatever  aflects  human  weal  or  woe. 
It  also  develops  a  specially  important  and  interesting 
phase  in  the  history  of  missions,  ancient,  mediaeval, 
and  modern,  and  of  the  various  enterprises  by  which 
the  Church  is  at  present  laboring  for  the  amelioration 
of  society  and  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

4.  Practical  theology  involves  a  knowledge  of  the 
various  theories  of  Church  polity ;  of  the  theory  and 
administration  of  discipline  ;  of  the  forms  of  worship ; 
of  the  history  and  use  of  liturgies  ;  of  the  agencies 
and  details  of  all  manner  of  Church  enterprises  ;  of 
Catechetics,  or  the  elements  of  Christian  instruction  ; 
of  Homiletics,  the  science  and  art  of  Christian  ad- 
dress ;  and  also  of  the  multiplied  duties  and  relations 
of  the  pastoral  office. 

5.  Skill  in  the  modes  and  means  of  using  knowl- 
edge. Over  and  above  the  intrinsic  value  of  knowl- 
edge, and  the  pleasure  it  confers  upon  its  possessor, 
a  still  higher  value  arises  from  its  availability  for 
practical  results.     As  science  ministers  to  the  innu- 


TRAINING  DEMANDED.  1 97 

merable  utilities  of  life,  and  promotes  human  advan- 
tage in  ten  thousand  forms,  so  knowledge,  in  the 
sphere  of  morals  and  religion,  is  designed  to  be  an 
agency  and  a  power  for  good.  Hence  the  great  rea- 
son why  Christian  pastors  are  called  on  to  acquire 
large  stores  of  knowledge  is  that  they  may  use  them 
for  the  objects  of  their  ministry.  Indeed,  self-knowl- 
edge, a  knowledge  of  society,  a  knowledge  of  books, 
and  even  an  acquaintance  with  theology,  are  of  little 
consequence  as  the  personal  accomplishments  of  a 
pastor,  unless  he  knows  how  to  employ  them  for  the 
instruction  and  salvation  of  men.  As  wealth  hoarded 
is  valueless  to  communities,  so  hoarded  knowledge 
confers  scanty  benefit  upon  its  possessor,  and  still  less 
upon  society. 

From  these  principles  it  may  be  justly  inferred, 
that  the  mere  acquisition  of  knowledge  is  but  a  part — 
and,  in  fact,  an  inferior  part — of  education.  The  stu- 
dent needs  to  be  trained  to  use  with  judgment,  and  to 
communicate  with  elegance  and  force,  what  he  knows. 
He  needs  to  become  capable  of  sound  reasoning,  just 
comparison,  free  expression,  and  powerful  persuasion, 
whether  by  voice  or  pen.  Specially  is  this  true  in 
reference  to  ministers  of  the  gospel,  who,  as  public 
teachers,  are  nothing  unless  they  are  capable  of  com- 
municating truth  and  diffusing  influence.  To  these 
objects,  therefore,  any  good  system  of  ministerial  ed- 
ucation must  specifically  tend.  Indeed,  it  is  safe  to 
affirm,  that  whatever  system,  in  the  highest  degree, 
combines  the  development  of  the  capacities  referred 
to  with  the  acquisition  of  ample  and  well-balanced 
stores  of  knowledge,  is  the   most  desirable  for  the 


198  KNOWLEDGE  MUST  BE    WIELDED. 

Church  and  her  ministers.  While  this  is  affirmed, 
it  need  not  be  denied  that  the  modes  of  acquiring 
knowledge  are  various,  and  that  knowledge  acquired 
under  difficulties  is  often  made  more  available  for 
practical  results  than  that  more  easily  attained.  Many 
examples  have  proved  the  possibility  of  acquiring  ex- 
tensive knowledge  and  great  skill  in  its  use,  by  per- 
sonal efforts,  after  an  entrance  upon  ministerial  duty, 
notwithstanding  the  embarrassment  of  inferior  prepa- 
ration. It  is  probable,  however,  that  many  more  cases 
of  absolute  and  partial  failure  have  occurred,  while 
many  of  those  that  have  succeeded  best,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances stated,  have  been  decided  in  their  convic- 
tions that  there  is  a  better  way. 

Without  here  discussing  questions  that  have  been 
rendered  obsolete  by  the  progress  of  events,  such 
as  whether  institutions  for  ministerial  education  are 
needed,  or  whether  education  in  the  ministry  is  not 
to  be  preferred  to  education  for  the  ministry,  it  will , 
be  assumed,  in  accordance  with  protracted  experience, 
that  absolute  uniformity  in  the  manner  of  acquiring 
knowledge,  and  the  capacity  of  wielding  it  in  the  dis- 
charge of  ministerial  duty,  is  neither  essential  nor 
practicable.  It  will  be  claimed,  moreover,  that  for 
objects  so  important,  the  best  advantages,  and  all  ad- 
vantages possible,  are  to  be  desired  and  sought  for. 
What  some  may  not  attain,  others  may  ;  and  with  the 
greatest  number  of  advantages  there  will  be  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  failures.WLet  no  one  imagine  that 
mere  attendance  upon  a  theological  school  will  insure 
to  him  the  needed  qualifications  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  let  no  one  flatter  himself  that  he  is  so  talented 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  SHOULD  BE  UNITED.  1 99 

that  such  an  institution  may  not  prove  to  be  of  inesti- 
mable advantage  to  him:^  Whoever  reflects,  will  not 
fail  to  perceive  that  it  is  desirable  to  combine,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  excellencies  of  institutional  instruction 
with  that  personal  experience  only  to  be  secured  in 
the  exercise  of  ministerial  duty.  In  some  instances, 
this  combination  may  be  secured  during  student-life. 
To  the  extent  that  such  a  combination  is  possible,  it 
may  be  pronounced  the  most  desirable  of  all  condi- 
tions of  ministerial  preparation,  and  most  like  that  in 
which  our  Lord  taught  his  disciples,  and  gave  them 
immediate  opportunities  of  applying  the  knowledge 
they  had  acquired.  Where  this  combination  can  not 
be  secured,  the  desideratum  next  in  order  would  be 
institutional  study  and  training  in  advance,  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  responsible  practice  in  due  season.  It  is 
not  possible  that  young  men  thrown  upon  their  own 
resources,  away  from  competent  instruction,  scantily 
supplied  with  the  apparatus  of  study,  and  at  the  same 
time  burdened  with  duty,  should,  as  a  general  rule,  be 
able  to  make  large  and  well-balanced  acquisitions  of 
knowledge.  There  may  be  circumstances  in  which 
such  a  position  should  be  accepted  as  the  last  alter- 
native between  possible  success  and  a  certain  aban- 
donment of  duty.  But  at  a  period  when  the  Church 
is  offering  the  best  of  advantages  for  ministerial  prep- 
aration to  those  of  her  sons  who  will  profit  by  them, 
an  undue  haste  to  enter  upon  ministerial  responsi- 
bility, without  suitable  preparation,  deserves  to  be 
regarded  as  inexcusable  presumption. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  ministers  in  official  posi- 
tions,  and   also   examining    committees   and   confer- 


200        THE  CHURCH  SHOULD  BE  PROTECTED. 

ences,  should  be  held  sacredly  bound  to  protect  the 
Church  against  either  the  vanity,  the  irresolution, 
or  the  indolence  which  have  hitherto  so  often  bur- 
dened  the  ministry  with  incompetent  candidates. 
The  young  man  who  at  this  day  flatters  himself  or 
allows  himself  to  be  flattered  into  the  idea  that  he 
does  not  need  the  accumulated  advantages  which 
institutions  founded  by  the  Church  for  the  special 
object  of  enabling  persons  like  him  to  acquire  knowl- 
edge with  greater  ease  and  correctness,  and  to  apply 
it  with  greater  certainty  of  success,  betrays  a  weak- 
ness— vide  Prov.  xxvi,  12;  Romans  xii,  16 — which, 
though  of  a  different  type,  is  scarcely  more  pardona- 
ble than  the  faint-heartedness  which  surrenders  before 
obstacles,  or  the  fondness  of  ease  which  prefers  to 
lapse  into  matrimony  or  into  indiflerence  rather  than 
to  make  manly  and  self-denying  exertions  for  the 
accomplishment  of  a  noble  object.  Opposite  as  such 
qualities  seem,  they  are  sometimes  found  in  combina- 
tion. But,  whether  grouped  or  single,  each  one  of 
them  is  a  bad  omen  of  ministerial  success,  and  the 
Church  will  gain  most  by  sternly  rejecting  candidates 
tainted  with  such  objections,  and  by  maintaining  a 
standard  that  will  make  earnest  and  persevering  ex- 
ertion to  attain  the  necessary  qualifications  absolutely 
indispensable  to  acceptance. 

The  question  now  before  the  Church  is  not  whether 
she  shall  have  institutions  for  theological  instruction 
and  ministerial  training,  or  whether  those  institutions 
shall  be  amply  endowed,  ably  manned  with  instruct- 
ors, and  watchfully  guarded,  but  whether  her  young 
men  shall  be  at  liberty  to  treat  the  advantages  offered 


THEOLOGICAL  SCHOOLS.  20I 

by  such  institutions  with  indifference,  or  required  to 
profit  by  them.  Not  only  ministers  and  conferences 
are  entitled  to  a  voice  in  determining  this  question, 
but  Churches  and  people.  However  indulgent  the 
latter  may  have  been  in  the  past,  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  in  the  future  they  will  hold  ministers  to  a  high 
responsibility  for  improving  or  neglecting  advantages 
proffered  for  their  improvement. 

Contrary  to  the  impressions  of  some,  institutional 
education  for  the  ministry  is  not  a  modern  invention, 
however  it  may  be  a  modern  necessity.  The  appoint- 
ment of  the  prophetic  office  among  the  Jews  was 
followed  by  the  establishment  of  "schools  of  the 
prophets."  One  great  feature  of  Christ's  public  life 
was  its  instructional  character.  From  its  beginning 
to  its  close  the  Great  Teacher  maintained  a  peripa- 
tetic school  for  the  education  of  his  disciples.  The 
apostles,  to  some  extent,  imitated  him  in  this.  The 
schools  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch  followed  the  apos- 
tolic age.  The  perversion  and  final  extinction  of  such 
schools  was  followed  by  an  age  of  mediaeval  darkness 
and  apostasy.  Schools  for  the  clergy  gradually  illu- 
minated and  ultimately  broke  the  midnight  of  the 
middle  ages,  and  introduced  the  dawn  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. Since  the  Reformation,  every  vitalized 
Church  in  Christendom  has  found,  at  a  certain  stage 
of  its  progress,  the  necessity  of  schools  for  its  min- 
istry. This  has  been  strictly  true  of  Methodism  in 
both  England  and  America,  and  also  in  the  larger 
foreign  missions  of  the  Churches  of  both  countries. 

An  agency  so  uniform  in  circumstances  so  very 
diverse  is,  in  fact,  founded  upon  a  necessity  of  human 


202  HELPS  TO  PROGRESS. 

nature  of  which  religion  and  the  Church  are  by  no 
means  independent.  As  inventions  and  machinery 
that  have  the  effect  of  saving  time  and  money  become 
indispensable,  so  institutions  of  learning  of  various 
grades  are  equally  indispensable,  for  the  same  reason. 
As  no  man  can  afford  to  go  on  foot,  or  even  to  ride 
in  a  stage-coach,  where  he  can  go  quicker  by  rail, 
and  as  no  parent  can  afford  to  teach  his  child  at 
home  when  he  can  send  him  to  a  good  school,  so  no 
student  can  in  these  days  afford  the  slow  and  toil- 
some process  of  self-education,  when  he  can,  by  any 
reasonable  efforts,  secure  the  advantages  of  good 
institutional  instruction.  Yet  the  zeal  and  the  appli- 
cation which  sometimes  secure  success  in  self-educa- 
tion are  scarcely  less  necessary  to  accomplish  the 
best  results  of  the  greatest  combination  of  advan- 
tages. In  the  most  favored  circumstances  the  mind 
must  not  rely  so  much  upon  its  advantages  as  upon 
itself  in  the  use  of  its  advantages,  endeavoring,  with 
all  possible  diligence,  to  appropriate  the  benefits  of 
severe  tasks  and  regular  drill.  Especially  should 
every  student  endeavor  to  form  correct,  profitable, 
and  fixed  habits  of  study  before  encountering  the 
various  obstacles  of  practical  life  which  prove  un- 
friendly to  even  the  preservation  of  such  habits. 

It  will  now  be  proper  to  remark  that  institutions 
devoted  to  the  instruction  and  training  of  ministers 
of  the  gospel  should  not  limit  themselves  to  the  rou- 
tine of  school-boy  instruction.  While  in  all  respects 
thorough  and  systematic,  they  should  also  encourage 
the  broadest  and  highest  self-development,  mingling 
with  theoretical  instruction  all  those  practical  exer- 


CHARACTER  DEFINED.  203 

cises  which  will  illustrate  the  uses  of  sacred  knowl- 
edge and  promote  skill  in  employing  talent  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  men.  Specially  should  the  best 
modes  of  communicating  thought  be  matter  of  con- 
stant practice  and  thorough  criticism,  while  the  '*art 
of  putting  things"  at  once  honestly  and  forcibly, 
whether  in  conversation,  in  writing,  or  in  public 
address,  should  by  no  means  be  overlooked. 

III.  Character.     The  word  character  is  derived 
directly  from   the   Greek.     The   substantive  Xapaxxr^p 
in   that   language   primarily   signified   an   instrument 
made  for  marking  or  graving.     Secondarily  it  signi- 
fied the  mark  made  upon  an  object,  as  the  device  or 
stamp  upon   a  coin.     Corresponding  to   these  ideas, 
character  in  our  language,  as  in  most  modern  tongues, 
has   a   twofold   signification.      Subjectively  it   means 
that   aggregate   of   qualities    by   which   a    person   is 
marked  or  known  among  men.     These  qualities  are 
often  the  result,  in  whole   or  in   part,  of  influences 
received  from  without.     Objectively,  character  is  that 
moral,    intellectual,    or    physical    instrumentality    by 
which  an  individual  makes  his  own  peculiar  mark  on 
society.     Thus  in  both  senses  John  Howard  acquired 
the  character  of  a  philanthropist,  and  Adam  Clarke 
that  of  a  scholar,  while  other  persons  have  acquired 
character  as  authors,  orators,  and  benefactors. 

As  distinguished  from  reputation,  character  depends 
upon  personal  qualities,  reputation  upon  what  others 
think  or  say  of  us.  Reputation— from  the  Latin,  re- 
puto—h2i?>  reference  to  the  reflex  opinion  created  by 
human  actions  in  the  minds  of  other  men.  A  person 
sometimes  gets   a  wide  reputation  by  a  single  act, 


204  DIFFERENT  PHASES. 

whereas  character  is  predicated  on  the  aggregate  of 
a  man's  actions  or  influences  through  life  or  a  period 
of  life.  Reputation  is  sometimes  good  when  the 
character  is  bad.  Nevertheless,  in  a  good  state  of 
society,  and  at  the  end  of  a  sufficient  time,  reputa- 
tion usually  becomes  the  measure  of  character.  Cer- 
tainly, in  a  religious  point  of  view,  no  reputation  can 
long  be  maintained  without  the  support  of  a  good 
character. 

Character  has  different  phases,  and  these  phases 
may  differ  more  or  less  in  the  same  individual.  Thus 
a  person  may  hold  positions  in  community  in  respect 
severally  to  his  own  religious,  social,  scholastic,  or 
professional  character.  As  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
the  same  person  may  have  a  somewhat  different  chai- 
acter  as  a  preacher  and  as  a  pastor.  |  Character  is 
important  to  all  men,  but  most  of  all  to  ministers  of 
the  gospel.  Their  great  business  is  to  renovate  and 
improve  the  characters  of  other  men.  \  Hence  it  is 
indispensably  necessary  that  they  ^  examples  of 
what  they  teach.  All  Christian  Churches  attach  a 
high  importance  to  character,  and  pre-eminently 
Methodist  Churches  give  prominent  and  constant 
attention  to  it.  In  this  view  they  enjoin  a  probation 
of  six  months  prior  to  full  membership  in  the  Church, 
and  two  years  ministerial  probation  before  full  recep- 
tion into  conference.  Ministerial  probation  is  then 
extended  two  years  more  prior  to  ordination  as  elders, 
while  even  thereafter  an  annual  examination  of  char- 
acter is  still  maintained  in  open  conference.  The  close 
examinations  of  character  instituted  by  Mr.  Wesley 
have  been  perpetuated,  with  slight  modifications,  in 


MINISTERIAL  STANDARD.  205 

the  various  branches  of  Methodism.  One  of  the 
standing  records  of  an  annual  conference  is :  "  Qties. 
Were  all  the  preachers'  characters  examined?  Ans. 
This  was  strictly  attended  to  by  calling  over  their 
names  before  the  conference."  In  the  case  of  confer- 
ence probationers  various  aspects  of  character  are  can- 
vassed up  to  the  time  when  each  individual  is  believed 
to  have  established  a  ministerial  reputation,  after 
which  the  examination  involves  specially  his  moral  and 
official  character,  by  challenging  any  possible  objec- 
tion against  either.  It  is  conceded  that  a  minister's 
character  may  present  somewhat  different  aspects 
when  regarded  from  an  ecclesiastical  or  a  popular 
stand-point.  Every  minister  is  subject  to  both  views, 
and  ought  to  be  prepared  to  pass  the  proper  tests 
from  either  view.  It  would  be  a  serious  mistake  for 
young  ministers  to  imagine  that  they  can  treat  the 
judgments  of  their  clerical  brethren  with  indiifer- 
ence  on  the  ground  of  a  successful  appeal  to  popular 
approbation.  The  truth  is  that  Churches  and  com- 
munities usually  and  justly  regard  ministerial  bodies 
as  specially  responsible  to  guard  the  purity  of  their 
own  organic  character  by  a  just  surveillance  of  each 
individual  involved  in  it,  and  generally  a  minister's 
reputation  among  his  associate  ministers  hinges 
largely  upon  his  usefulness  among  the  people  under 
his  charge. 

In  viewing  character  in  the  light  of  ministerial 
responsibility  and  efficiency,  we  can,  in  fact,  overlook 
none  of  those  points  of  contact  at  which  the  preacher 
or  pastor  touches  society,  whether  in  his  public  or  pri- 
vate capicity.    All  such  points  become  developments, 


206  STUDY  OF  CHARACTER, 

if  not  indices  of  the  internal  life  of  the  individual. 
Making  due  allowance  for  natural  peculiarities,  we 
may  nevertheless  see  that  in  a  most  important  sense 
"every  man  is  the  architect  of  his  own  character." 
A  man  may  be  born  with  peculiar  tendencies,  but 
his  character  will  depend  upon  the  control  he  exer- 
cises over  them ;  and,  as  many  of  our  natural  tenden- 
cies are  evil,  human  character,  in  order  to  a  perfect 
development,  requires  large  and  constant  influence 
from  divine  grace. 

In  order  to  the  successful  development  both  of 
An  exalted  Christian  and  ministerial  character  every 
ideal.  young  or  intending  minister  should  form 

to  himself  an  exalted  ideal  of  character,  and  make 
ceaseless  efforts  to  realize  that  ideal  in  his  own  life 
and  actions.  In  the  attempted  realization  of  character 
no  narrow  views  should  be  tolerated,  but  the  subject 
should  be  studied  in  its  broadest  aspects,  from  the 
examples  portrayed  in  the  holy  Scriptures  down 
through  history  and  biography  to  the  range  of  each 
one's  personal  observation. 

Fletcher's  "  Portrait  of  St.  Paul "  is  a  fine  example 
of  the  delineation  of  apostolic  character  with  reference 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  age  in  which  the  writer 
lived.  Indeed,  it  well  deserves  to  be  studied  at  the 
present  time,  in  consideration  of  its  rare  ability  and 
discrimination  in  developing  for  imitation  the  nicest 
shades  of  pastoral  character,  while  its  reprobation  of 
opposite  and  contrasted  traits  is  trenchant  and  often 
withering.     Note  an  example: 

"The  minister  of  the  present  age  is  but  seldom  engaged  in 
publishing  to  his  people  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  still  more 


APOSTOLIC  EXAMPLE.  20/ 

rarely  in  supplicating  for  them  the  possession  of  those  blessings 
which  the  gospel  proposes.  It  is  chiefly  before  men  that  he  lifts  ■ 
up  his  hands  and  affects  to  pour  out  a  prayer  from  the  fullness 
of  his  heart,  while  the  true  minister  divides  his  time  between 
the  two  important  and  refreshing  occupations  of  preaching  and 
prayer,  by  the  former  making  a  public  offer  of  divine  grace  to 
his  hearers,  and  by  the  latter  soliciting  for  them  in  secret  the 
experience  of  that  grace.  Such  was  the  manner  of  the  blessed 
Jesus  himself,  who,  after  having  reproved  his  disciples  for  the 
low  degree  of  their  faith,  retired  either  into  gardens  or  upon 
mountains,  praying  that  their  'faith  might  not  fail.'  The  good 
pastor,  who  constantly  imitates  the  example  of  his  divine  Mas- 
ter, is  prepared  to  adopt  the  language  of  St.  Paul  in  addressing 
the  flock  upon  which  he  is  immediately  appointed  to  attend. 
See  Eph.  iii,  14-19  ;  Phil,  i,  9-1 1.  By  prayers  like  these  the  apos- 
tle Paul  was  accustomed  to  water,  without  ceasing,  the  heavenly 
seed  which  he  had  so  widely  scattered  through  the  vineyard  of 
his  Lord,  manifesting  an  increasing  attachment  to  those  among 
whom  he  had  at  any  time  published  the  tidings  of  salvation,  and 
breathing  out,  in  all  his  epistles  to  distant  Churches,  the  most 
earnest  desire  that  God  would  'fulfill'  in  them  'all  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  goodness,  and  the  work  of  faith  with  power ; 
that  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  might  be  glorified  in 
them,  and  they  in  him.'     2  Thess.  i,  11,  12. 

"  Pastors  who  pray  thus  for  their  flocks  pray  not  in  vain. 
Their  fervent  petitions  are  heard,  sinners  are  converted,  the  faith- 
ful are  edified,  and  thanksgiving  is  shortly  joined  to  supplication. 
Thus  the  same  apostle  :  '  I  thank  my  God  always  on  your  behalf 
for  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  you  by  Jesus  Ciirist :  that  in 
every  thing  ye  are  enriched  by  him,  in  all  utterance,  and  in  all 
knowledge.'  i  Cor.  i,  4-7.  '  Having  heard  of  your  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  your  love  unto  all  the  saints,  I  cease  not  to  give 
thanks  for  you.'     Eph.  i,  15,  16. 

"Worldly  ministers  have  no  experience  of  the  holy  joy  that 
accompanies  these  secret  sacitfices  of  praise  and  thanksgiving. 
But  this  can  by  no  means  be  considered  as  matter  of  astonish- 
ment. Is  their  attachment  to  Christ  as  sincere  as  that  of  his 
faithful  ministers  ?  Are  they  as  solicitous  for  the  salvation  of 
their  hearers  ?  Do  they  teach  and  preach  with  equal  zeal  ?  Do 
they  pray  with  the  same  ardor  and  perseverance  ?"* 

*  Fletcher's  Works,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  53,  54. 


208  SCRIPTURAL   CHARACTERS. 

Taking  Fletcher's  "Portrait"  as  a  model,  except 
as  to  its  length,  every  minister  may  profitably  study 
and  discuss  with  more  or  less  detail  the  character  of 
any,  and,  indeed,  of  many  of  the  leading  Scripture 
worthies,  selecting  at  least  representative  examples 
of  the  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles.  But  most 
of  all  will  the  preacher  and  pastor  be  profited  by 
studying  minutely  and  developing  fully  the  ministe- 
rial character  of  Christ,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the 
true  flock  of  God. 

The  study  of  Scriptural  characters  may  be  appro- 
priately supplemented  by  the  perusal  of .  select  and 
standard  biographies  of  distinguished  ministers,  and 
of  those  authors  on  Church  history  who  have  exhib- 
ited fidelity  and  skill  in  portraitures  of  the  leading 
men  of  successive  periods.* 

But  aside  from  this  class  of  studies,  and  also  from 
that  personal  observation  which  every  one  should 
make  upon  the  great  and  useful  men  of  his  own 
times,  there  is  an  important  and  ever-available  field 
for  study  and  meditation  in  the  contemplation  and 
development  of  those  various  moral  and  social  quali- 
ties which  enter  as  important  factors  into  the  forma- 
tion of  superior  character.  Such  qualities  may  be 
conveniently  considered  as  belonging  to  the  following 
classes:  i.  Personal  traits.     2.  Religious  characteris- 

*  Plutarch's  Lives  form  a  standard  example  of  the  graphic  delinea- 
tion of  characters  by  comparison  and  contrast.  Modern  literature 
might  be  improved  by  more  frequent  imitations  of  that  kind  of  writing. 
For  good  examples  of  the  portraiture  of  character  in  historic  narratives 
see  Schaff's  Church  History  and  Stevens's  History  of  Methodism. 
Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit  constitute  of  themselves  a 
most  valuable  store-house  of  well-prepared  clerical  biography. 


AMIABILITY.  209 

tics.  3.  Habits  or  modes  of  action.  A  few  repre- 
sentative qualities  of  each  class  may  be  briefly  noticed 
as  essential  to  pastoral  character. 

A.  Personal  Traits. 

Of  these  amiability  may  be  considered  primary. 
Who  would  choose,  or  even  consent,  to  accept  an  un- 
amiable  pastor  1  Goodness  and  gentleness  are  among 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  and  consequently  essential  to 
Christian  character.  They  seldom,  if  ever,  fail  to 
attract  the  affection  of  all  who  see  them  manifested. 
As  a  prime  object  of  true  religion  is  to  promote 
moral  goodness  in  human  hearts  and  lives,  the  teacher 
of  religion  who  fails  to  give  an  example  of  that  char- 
acteristic in  all  his  words  and  actions,  must  be  con- 
sidered deficient  in  one  of  the  first  essentials  of 
pastoral  success.  Attraction,  and  not  repulsion,  is 
the  law  of  Christian  influence.  Amiability  always 
attracts ;  children  feel  its  power,  and  the  aged  are  not 
insensible  to  its  charms.  The  high  and  the  low  are 
alike  susceptible  of  its  impressions. 

Amiability  is  natural  to  some  ;  it  may  be  cultivated 
by  all.  Amiability  makes  its  possessor  approach- 
able— accessible  to  all,  and  equally  facilitates  his  ac- 
cess to  others.  It  has  no  frowns  for  the  diffident  and 
self-reproachful,  but  it  sets  at  ease  those  who  are 
embarrassed.  In  short,  amiability  wins — wins  favor, 
wins  respect,  wins  affection,  wins  hearts,  and  must 
be  regarded  as  an  important  instrumentality  of  win- 
ning souls  to  Christ.  But  amiability  must  not  be 
allowed  to  descend  into  simplicity,  and  thus  become 
a  weakness.  It  must  be  supported  by  other  essential 
qualities,  from  which  it  will  derive  strength  ;  while  to 

18 


210  DIGNITY. 

them  it  will  impart  attractive   charms.      Especially 
should  amiability  be  supported  by  dignity. 

True  DIGNITY  must  dwell  in  the  soul,  and  be  incor- 
porated in  the  character  of  him  who  would  manifest 
it.  It  can  noJt  be  put  on  and  off  like  a  garment.  It 
does  not  consist  in  pretension,  nor  in  affectation, 
either  of  personal  or  of  clerical  consequence.  It  is 
less  compatible  with  pride  of  position  and  haughti- 
ness of  spirit  than  with  humility  and  meekness.  It 
is  not  conferred  by  wealth  or  circumstances.  It  may 
exist  in  poverty  and  deep  affliction.  Dignity  of  char- 
acter is  opposed  to  meanness  of  spirit.  It  does  not 
descend  to  low  words  or  trivial  actions.  It  is  culti- 
vated by  cherishing  elevated  thoughts  and  noble 
aspirations.  It  does  not  let  down  the  standard  of 
manhood  by  yielding  to  selfish  impulses.  It  does  not 
seek  to  exalt  its  possessor  by  depressing  others — nor 
by  affecting  contempt  for  just  conventionalisms  and 
established  usages.  On  the  other  hand,  it  honors 
itself  by  a  just  respect  for  all  good  men,  and  by 
cherishing  the  most  favorable  and  hopeful  views  of 
humanity.  True  human  dignity  is  based  upon  the 
immortality  of  man — a  being  created  in  the  image  of 
God — sinful,  indeed,  but  a  subject  of  redemption,  and 
a  candidate  for  immortal  honor  in  the  world  to  come. 
In  the  light  of  such  a  position  and  possible  destiny  it 
becomes  every  individual  to  ask  himself.  What  is 
worthy  of  me,  in  respect  to  my  time,  my  talents,  my 
actions  1  The  religion  of  the  gospel  is  conducive  to 
the  truest  and  highest  dignity.  Every  Christian  is 
required  to  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  he 
is  called,  and  of  the  Savior,  who  has  called  him  to  be 


A   CHRISTIAN  STANDARD.  211 

an  heir  of  grace  and  of  glory.  Ministers  must  be 
capable  of  teaching  both  the  principles  and  practice 
of  Christian  dignity.  Their  circumstances  and  asso- 
ciations are  favorable  to  its  attainment  in  their  own 
character.  The  gravity  of  the  gospel  message,  the 
responsibility  of  every  ministerial  act,  the  eternal 
consequences  pending  on  the  right  and  faithful  dis- 
charge of  duty  are  so  many  considerations  constantly 
appealing  to  them  to  maintain  a  character  and  con- 
duct worthy  of  their  divine  Master.  Without  per- 
sonal dignity  it  is  impossible  to  secure  lasting  re- 
spect for  one's  ministry,  or  to  maintain  influence 
over  men.  Important  as  this  quality  is,  it  can  not 
exist  alone.  It  must  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  other 
great  essentials  of  Christian  and  ministerial  charac- 
ter. Hence  it  has  well  been  said  of  the  true  and 
worthy  minister : 

"  His  is  the  dignity  of  holiness — of  moral  purity — of  death  to 
the  world.  It  is  the  dignity  of  faith  ;  he  believes  God,  and  is 
not  ashamed.  It  is  the  dignity  of  love;  God  is  the  center  of 
his  soul,  and  he  loves  his  neighbor  as  himself.  It  is  the  dignity 
of  hope — for  his  is  the  hope  of  glory.  It  is  the  dignity  of  action ; 
he  hves  to  save  the  souls  of  men.  It  is  the  dignity  of  relation ; 
he  is  a  child  of  God.  It  is  the  dignity  of  prospect;  he  is  an 
heir  of  heaven.  It  is  the  dignity  of  station,  for  he  is  an  embas- 
sador of  the  King  of  kings  ;  the  dignity  of  knowledge,  for  he 
knows  the  only  living  and  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he 
has  sent;  the  dignity  of  rank — his  crown  awaits  him;  the  dig- 
nity of  safety — angels  encamp  around  him  ;  the  dignity  of  hap- 
piness— God  is  his  portion  ;  and  the  dignity  of  permanence — 
he  shall  never  be  moved."* 

This   principle   must   not   only  be   possessed,  but 
exhibited — made   known    by  its    fruits,    in    personal 

*  Dr.  C.  Adams,  in  Minister  for  the  Times. 


212  DISCRETION. 

demeanor,  in  dress,  in  language,  in  actions,  and  in 
all  the  engagements  and  conduct  of  life. 

Among  the  essential  qualities  of  pastoral  character, 
it  is  scarcely  possible  to  give  too  prominent  a  place  to 
DISCRETION.  Discretion  is  practical  wisdom.  Learn- 
ing is  not  sure  to  confer  it.  Discretion  is  less  de- 
pendent on  a  large  degree  of  knowledge  than  upon 
the  disposition  and  ability  to  use  the  knowledge  one 
possesses  for  wise  purposes.  And  yet  the  more 
knowledge  one  has,  the  higher  discretion  he  may  be 
expected  to  manifest,  provided  he  is  controlled  by  a 
pure  moral  purpose.  From  the  same  Latin  root  (dis- 
cerno)  we  also  have  the  word  discernment ;  and  dis- 
cernment may  be  considered  the  primary  idea,  the 
invariable  precursor  of  discretion.  Discretion  is  alike 
demanded  in  small  matters  and  in  great.  The  Script- 
ures illustrate  its  importance.  In  one  instance,  dis- 
cretion is  spoken  of  as  an  active  attribute  of  the 
Creator  himself.  '*  He  hath  made  the  earth  by  his 
power,  he  hath  established  the  world  by  his  wisdom, 
and  hath  stretched  out  the  heavens  by  his  discretion. 
Jer.  X,  12.  Again,  God  is  represented  as  the  great 
giver  or  teacher  of  discretion  to  men,  *'  For  his  God 
doth  instruct  him  to  discretion,  and  doth  teach  him." 
Isa.  xxviii,  26. 

The  uses  and  importance  of  discretion  are  illus- 
trated^ in  various  passages  of  the  sacred  writings. 
"  The  discretion  of  a  man  deferreth  his  anger."  Prov. 
xix,  II.  "As  a  jewel  of  gold  in  a  swine's  snout,  so 
is  a  fair  woman  which  is  without  discretion."  xi,  22. 
"When  wisdom  entereth  into  thy  heart,  and  knowl- 
edge   is    pleasant    unto    thy    soul ;    discretion    shall 


DISCRETION  A   RELIGIOUS  DUTY,  21 3 

preserve  thee,  understanding  shall  keep  thee."  ii,  lO, 
II.  "A  good  man  showeth  favor,  and  lendeth :  he 
will  guide  his  aflfairs  with  discretion."     Ps.  cxii,  5. 

Our  Savior  commended  discretion  as  a  most  im- 
portant characteristic  of  the  wise  scribe.  "When 
Jesus  saw  that  he  answered  discreetly,  he  said  unto 
him,  thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God." 
Mark  xiii,  34.  The  apostle  Paul,  also,  in  addition  to 
the  practical  discretion  which,  in  so  many  forms,  he 
enjoined  upon  Timothy  and  Titus,  commanded  the 
latter  to  make  discretion  a  special  subject  of  pastoral 
instruction  ;  "  young  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  dis- 
creet."    Titus  ii,  6. 

Discretion  is  important  to  pastors,  not  only  in  their 
general  intercourse  with  society,  but  especially  in 
their  private  and  personal  endeavors  to  win  souls  to 
Christ.  Next  to  the  importance  of  knowing  what  to 
say,  is  that  of  knowing  when  and  how  to  say  it.  It 
is  doubtless  with  reference  to  the  value  of  discretion 
in  speech  that  the  wise  man  says,  "A  word  fitly 
spoken  is  like  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver." 
Discretion  enjoins  upon  ministers,  in  all  circum- 
stances, respectful  attention  to  the  proprieties  of  so- 
cial Hfe.  It,  moreover,  suggests  timely  and  suitable 
modes  of  presenting  moral  and  religious  truth  to  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  men. 

V Discretion  is  an  indispensable  auxiliary  to  the 
proper  discharge  of  public  pastoral  duties.;  .for  in- 
stance, in  the  control  of  popular  assemblies,  whether 
as  a  speaker  or  as  a  presiding  officer.  In  preaching, 
it  suggests  the  right  subjects  at  the  right  time,  and 
also  the  best  mode  of  treating  them.     Not  least  is  it 


214  DISCRETION  NEEDED  IN  SOCIETY. 

useful  in  determining  when  and  to  what  extent  to 
engage  in  controversies,  and  when  to  avoid  them  alto- 
gether. Controversies,  indiscreetly  opened  or  badly 
managed,  have  often  contributed  to  the  propagation 
of  error ;  whereas,  ably  conducted,  and  at  the  right 
time,  they  have  been  the  means  of  effectually  banish- 
ing error  and  strange  doctrine. 

Discretion  is  constantly  needed  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  affairs  of  a  Church  ;  in  the  arrangement 
and  conduct  of  public  services,  in  the  advice  to  be 
given,  to  penitents  and  converts,  in  the  appointment 
of  officers,  in  the  settlement  of  difficulties,  and  in  the 
administration  of  discipline. 

The  possession  of  great  talent,  as  a  scholar  or  an 
orator,  but  poorly  atones  for  a  lack  of  discretion.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  sometimes  heightens  the  public 
perception  of  the  deficiency  by  a  glaring  contrast. 
Indiscretion  in  a  pastor  forfeits  the  confidence  a  com- 
munity might  be  disposed  to  place  in  him,  and  conse- 
quently destroys  his  influence,  and  jeopards  the  most 
sacred  interests  of  a  Church.  How  often  has  Zion 
been  made  to  mourn  and  her  solemn  feasts  to  lan- 
guish from  this  cause !  Whatever  inconvenience  or 
distress  any  minister  may  personally  suffer  from  an 
act  of  indiscretion,  ought  to  be  regarded  by  him  as 
very  little,  compared  with  the  calamity  of  bringing 
reproach  upon  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  thereby  hin- 
dering the  spread  of  truth  and  the  salvation  of  men. 
In  view  of  such  a  possibility,  how  earnestly  ought 
every  one  invested  with  the  sacred  office  to  seek  that 
wisdom  that  cometh  down  from  God  as  an  ever- 
guiding  element  of  his  character ! 


DEFINITE   AIMS.  215 

Definiteness  of  aim  is  highly  essential  to  minis- 
terial success,  and  should  consequently  be  embodied 
in  a  pastor's  character.  Nothing  so  tends  to  habitual 
inefficiency  as  vagueness  of  thought  and  purpose. 
The  failures  it  causes  are  innumerable.  To  it  may 
be  attributed  idle  prayers,  powerless  sermons,  profit- 
less visits,  and  wasted  opportunities.  Important  re- 
sults do  not  come  by  chance.  As  dependent  on 
human  instrumentality,  they  must  pre-exist  in  the 
conception,  in  the  desire,  and  in  the  determination 
of  him  who  would  bring  them  to  pass. 

A  pastor  who  comprehends  his  calling  and  his  re- 
sponsibility sees  himself  environed  with  objects  desir- 
able to  be  realized.  He  must  not  be  confused  with 
their  number,  nor  overwhelmed  with  their  magnitude. 
He  must  be  able  to  conceive  of  each  one  separately, 
and  in  its  proper  relations ;  to  fix  his  thoughts  clearly 
upon  the  means  necessary  to  its  realization,  whether 
immediate  or  remote.  This  principle  is  alike  appli- 
cable to  those  grand  measures  which  require  years 
for  their  consummation,  and  to  the  minute  details 
which,  in  their  proper  order,  are  essential  to  ultimate 
success.  Thus,  no  pastor  should  content  himself 
with  the  mere  consciousness  that  he  desires  to  pro- 
mote the  prosperity  of  his  Church.  He  should  also 
comprehend  clearly  the  various  elements  which  must 
be  combined  to  create  that  prosperity  and  the  agen- 
cies by  which  they  may  be  severally  promoted.  To 
attempt  to  reap  where  seed  has  not  been  sown,  or  to 
gather  fruits  at  the  season  of  blossoms,  is  scarcely 
more  ill-judged  than  to  expect  the  fruits  of  Christian 
living  without  previous  instruction  in  religious  truth, 


2l6  IMPARTIALITY, 

or  to  imagine  that  a  Church  can  be  prosperous  as  a 
whole,  while  the  individual  members  are  worldly,  and 
neglectful  of  their  Christian  obligations.  As  in  war 
the  grandest  results  hinge  on  minute  details^  it  is 
scarcely  less  so  in  pastoral  life.  Hence  the  pastor 
who  would  organize  success,  must  plan  with  judgment 
and  thoroughness,  and  execute  with  scrupulous  care 
and  definite  purpose  whatever  tends  to  promote  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  any  individual  child  or  member  of 
his  flock,  as  well  as  of  the  aggregated  whole,  both  for 
the  present  and  the  future. 

Impartiality.  While  the  pastor,  as  a  man,  can 
not  be  expected  to  be  free  from  personal  preferences 
or  to  disown  congenial  attachments,  yet,  as  a  guard- 
ian of  souls,  he  must  maintain  a  faithful  and  impai- 
tial  interest  in  all  who  are  committed  to  his  care. 
To  be  assiduous  in  attentions  to  the  rich  or  the 
learned  and  the  good,  and  at  the  same  time  neglect- 
ful of  the  poor,  the  afflicted,  the  ignorant,  and  the 
froward,  is  not  only  to  be  sure  of  exciting  prejudices 
very  unfriendly  to  pastoral  success,  but  to  be  guilty 
of  an  indiscretion  both  weak  and  sinful.  The  sure 
remedy  against  such  a  course  is  to  appreciate  man 
as  man,  and  the  souls  of  all  men  as  immortal,  and 
deserving  the  most  earnest  eflbrts  to  save  them  from 
sin  and  to  elevate  them  into  the  favor  and  moral 
image  of  God.  This  Christian  sentiment  may  be  so 
concreted  into  the  moral  and  social  being  of  a  min- 
ister, and  so  manifested  in  his  life,  that  he  will  be 
every-where  recognized  as  equally  the  friend  of  the 
high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  equally 
able  to  minister  to  the  happiness  and  the  salvation 


INDEPENDENCE.  2 1  / 

of  all.  This  quality  of  character  blends  admirably 
with  several  important  traits  of  a  somewhat  different 
type;  in  fact,  it  is  a  very  necessary  counterpart  of 
independence,  decision,  and  firmness  of  character. 

Independence  is  a  highly  popular  trait  of  character. 
All  wish  to  be  thought  possessed  of  it ;  comparatively 
few  really  are.  Some  so  widely  mistake  its  nature  as 
to  suppose  that  it  consists  in  singularity,  or  in  the 
persistent  habit  of  differing  from  other  men.  True 
independence  harmonizes  with  a  just  respect  for  other 
men,  and  a  loyal  conformity  to  the  usages  of  society 
and  the  restraints  of  government,  whether  in  Church 
or  state.  Independent  thinking  is  the  basis  of  a  true 
independence  of  character,  and  for  this  God  designed 
all  men  in  giving  them  minds  of  their  own.  But 
there  is  a  wide  difference  between  a  capacity  of 
abstract  thought  and  that  of  forming  prompt  and 
correct  practical  judgments.  In  the  course  of  life 
new  combinations  are  perpetually  arising.  In  emer- 
gencies some  men  have  always  to  look  to  others  for 
guidance.  The  man  of  independent  judgment  can 
act  for  himself  and  also  for  others.  A  pastor  should 
always  be  able  to  do  this.  True  independence  does 
not  disdain  to  seek  appropriate  counsel  nor  to  observe 
carefully  the  grounds,  tendencies,  and  consequences 
of  actions,  but  nevertheless  is  ready,  at  the  proper 
time,  to  act  in  the  light  of  intelligent  conviction,  with 
others  if  it  can,  alone  if  it  must.  At  this  point  inde- 
pendence blends  with  decision,  a  much  lauded,  but 
often  misconceived  and  perverted  trait  of  character. 
Apart  from  a  strict  following  of  the  right,  decision  is 
no  virtue.     Following  wrong,  it  is  evil  and  only  evil 

19 


21 8  DECISION. 

continually.  Neither  independence  nor  firmness  have 
in  themselves  any  moral  character.  They  are  hence 
only  to  be  commended  when  under  the  influence  of 
enlightened  conscience  and  correct  judgment.  These 
a  Christian  pastor  may  always  be  supposed  to  have, 
and,  having  them,  he  needs  decision  to  profit  by  their 
dictates,  and  firmness  to  prevent  being  swayed  firom 
th^  course  they  mark  out  for  his  steps. 
'J  Decision  of  character  has  two  important  elements. 
The  first  is  promptnes^s  of  determination,  the  second 
persistence  in  action,  uhe  first  is  often  simulated  by 
rashness,  the  second  by  stubbornness,  whereas  true 
decision  is  equally  removed  from  both.  It  is  neither 
precipitate  nor  vacillating.  Supported  by  a  clear 
judgment,  it  pursues  an  unwavering  course,  neither 
turning  aside  for  obstacles  nor  yielding  to  discour- 
agement. Nevertheless,  when  clearer  light  or  deeper 
reflection  shows  a  former  course  or  opinion  to  be 
erroneous,  decision  forsakes  it  and  adopts  the  right, 
without  fear  of  reproach.  In  mixed  communities,  and 
amid  conflicting  interests  and  opinions,  influences  are 
often  brought  to  bear  upon  pastors  which  embarrass 
their  actions,  and  tend  strongly  to  divert  them  from 
the  courses  duty  marks  out.  To  be  alarmed  by 
clamor,  to  be  swayed  by  sympathy,  or  to  be  sub- 
merged in  a  vortex  of  popular  excitement,  is  alike 
unworthy  of  the  intelligence  and  the  moral  stamina 
of  a  leader  in  the  Christian  Church.  Firmness  in 
the  right  is  therefore  to  be  commended  as  a  virtue 
indispensable  to  the  attainment  of  substantial  and 
permanent  influence  in  the  pastoral  office. 

Energy.     The   numerous   and   arduous   duties   of 


ENERGY.  219 

the  pastorate  will  be  but  poorly  discharged  without 
energy  of  character.  Whoever  is  feeble  of  purpose 
or  intermittent  in  his  zeal  gives  but  small  promise  of 
success  in  a  sphere  of  duty  that  demands  sleepless 
vigilance,  untiring  industry,  and  self-sacrificing  toil. 
The  term  is  from  the  Greek  ivepyio)^  ivepyoc;,  signifying 
inward  working.  Energy,  however,  is  not  a  mere 
mental  fermentation,  self-exhaustive  and  inoperative 
without.  It  is  rather  an  inward  working  toward  an 
outward  end.  It  is  properly  consummated  only  in 
positive  results.  The  same  word,  but  little  varied 
from  its  original  form,  is  found  in  all  the  most  im- 
portant modern  languages,  having  the  twofold  sig- 
nificance of  intellectual  and  physical  activity.  In  a 
primary  sense  energy  lies  wholly  in  the  mind,  but 
the  mind,  acting  upon  matter,  creates  physical  power, 
which  sometimes  acts  on  after  the  originating  mind 
has  passed  away.  Thus  the  mind  of  a  Watt  and  a 
Fulton  may  be  said  to  be  acting  to-day  through  the 
myriad  steam-engines  that  form  the  motive  power  of 
the  world.  So  the  moral  energy  of  the  apostles  and 
the  reformers  of  successive  periods  pulsates  still  in  the 
breasts  of  millions,  who  in  turn  become  propagators 
of  the  sacred  impulse.  Energy,  as  developed  in  char- 
acter, demands  a  union  of  activity  and  force.  Its 
characteristics  are  vigor  of  movement  as  opposed  to 
languor,  strength  of  will  as  opposed  to  irresolution, 
and  power  as  opposed  to  inefficiency.  Its  opposites 
are  inertness,  indolence,  feebleness.  Energy  rises 
early  and  commences  work.  Indolence  folds  the 
hands  together  and  says,  a  little  more  sleep.  Hav- 
ing risen,  it  procrastinates,  wasting  time  and  wearying 


220  MOTIVE  POWER, 

itself  with  inaction.  Energy  meets  difficulties  and 
conquers  them.  Indolence  says  "there  is  a  lion  in 
the  way."  Examples  of  energy  are  found  in  all  great 
men  and  successful  ministers.  While  men  are  differ- 
ently endowed  both  with  physical  and  mental  energy, 
yet  both  may  be  cultivated  and  strengthened.  En- 
ergy may  be  promoted  by  conceiving  rightly  of  its 
own  importance,  by  cherishing  lofty  and  soul-stirring 
motives,  and  by  putting  forth  strenuous  efforts  until 
energetic  action  becomes  habitual. 

Energy  measures  the  motive  power  of  every  aggress- 
ive Christian,  and  especially  of  every  minister  of  the 
gospel.  Energy  is  demanded  in  preaching.  Ener- 
getic thought  needs  to  elaborate  the  matter  of  a  dis- 
course, and  energy  of  soul  needs  to  flow  out  through 
all  its  delivery.  Energy  is  necessary  to  a  timely  and 
efficient  discharge  of  all  pastoral  duties,  specially  in 
maintaining,  amidst  the  pressure  of  other  cares  and 
responsibilities,  personal  efforts  for  the  salvation  of 
individuals.  Without  energy  in  a  pastor  the  various 
benevolent  enterprises  of  a  Church  are  sure  to  lan- 
guish, if  not  to  die  out,  whereas  pastoral  energy  will 
infuse  into  them  life,  order,  and  power. 

Energy  should  not  be  spasmodic  or  intermittent; 
hence  it  needs  to  be  regulated  and  sustained  by  per- 
severance. Perseverance,  as  a  trait  of  character, 
implies  both  the  purpose  and  habit  of  continuance 
in  whatever  one  undertakes.  Continuance  in  given 
courses  may  result  from  mere  habit,  and  persistence 
may  be  manifested  in  particular  actions  or  courses  of 
action.  Perseverance  occupies  a  broader  field,  and 
results  from  the  exercise  of  a  nobler  class  of  faculties. 


PERSEVERANCE.  221 

Like  other  personal  characteristics  already  noticed, 
perseverance  is  susceptible  of  opposite  applications. 
Perseverance  in  evil  is  a  flagrant  sin  which  adds 
enormity  to  other  sins.  Perseverance  in  goodness 
and  virtuous  eflbrt  increases  and  adorns  every  other 
excellence  of  character.  From  this  point  of  view- 
appears  its  great  importance  in  the  character  of  a 
pastor.  He  labors  not  merely  for  immediate  results, 
but  for  issues  reaching  into  the  long  future,  and  tak- 
ing hold  upon  eternity.  In  this  toil  he  must  walk 
by  faith,  and  not  by  sight.  Hence,  however  distant 
the  realization  of  his  hope,  neither  his  faith  nor  his 
efforts  must  be  allowed  to  fail.  Perseverance  is  nec- 
essary in  constant  endeavors  for  personal  improve- 
ment, to  make  progress  in  knowledge  and  in  holiness, 
as  well  as  in  maintaining  the  full  routine  of  public 
duty.  It  is  specially  important  in  periods  of  religious 
declension,  and  amidst  oppositions  and  discourage- 
ments of  every  kind.  Perseverance  is  enjoined  in  the 
Scriptures  as  an  essential  element  of  a  religious  life. 
"He  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the  same  shall 
be  saved."  Matt,  xxiv,  13.  "Be  thou  faithful  unto 
death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life."  Rev.  x, 
2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  lack  of  perseverance  is 
rebuked  as  the  precursor  of  fatal  apostasy.  "  Ye  did 
run  well;  who  did  hinder  you,  that  ye  should  not 
obey  the  truth .?"  Gal.  v,  7.  Indeed,  the  lack  of  per- 
severance detracts  from  every  conceivable  excellence 
of  character.  It  tends  to  vacillation,  instability,  and 
unreliability.  It  forfeits  self-respect,  and  renders  a 
man  incapable  of  securing  the  high  respect  of  others. 
Some  pastors  waver  and  hesitate  in  well-doing,  and 


222  ANCIENT  MOTTO. 

some  even  abandon  the  best  of  measures  through 
faint-heartedness  or  despondency.  Hence  courage 
and  HOPEFULNESS  should  be  cultivated  as  of  indis- 
pensable value  to  the  leader  of  a  spiritual  host. 

All  men,  unless  morbidly  despondent,  are  hopeful 
when  the  tide  of  prosperity  is  running  high.  But  that 
tide,  like  the  tides  of  the  ocean,  has  its  ebb.  Unva- 
rying prosperity  can  not  be  expected  in  any  of  the 
relations  of  this  life.  Although  it  may  not  be  possi- 
ble to  foresee  in  what  form  difficulties  or  disasters 
may  be  encountered,  yet  it  is  safe  to  be  prepared 
for  them  at  any  time  and  in  any  form.  Whether, 
therefore,  from  the  oppositions  of  the  world,  the  flesh, 
or  the  devil,  a  Church  or  a  minister  is  involved  in 
serious  trial,  it  becomes  the  latter,  especially,  to  bear 
up  under  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  with  a  manly 
heart  and  a  confident  trust  in  God's  promises.  The 
pastor  should  at  all  times  be  true  to  his  convictions 
of  the  power  of  truth  and  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
the  gospel.  StirsiLin  corda  was  a  glorious  motto  of 
the  early  Church  which  should  never  be  allowed  to 
become  obsolete.  As  in  military  struggles  calm  cour- 
age and  hopefulness  in  a  leader  have  often  wrung 
victory  out  of  the  jaws  of  defeat,  so  in  the  battles  of 
the  Christian  life  a  strong  heart  has  often  won  tri- 
umph where  discomfiture  seemed  inevitable.  As  in 
an  army  cowardice  or  courage  in  leaders  becomes 
contagious  in  the  ranks,  so  in  the  Church  a  faint- 
hearted pastor  often  unconsciously  and  undesignedly 
diffijises  among  the  whole  membership  his  own  pusil- 
lanimous fears,  while  a  pastor  possessed  of  high  moral 
courage  inspires  those  who  surround  him  with  such 


HOPE   CONQUERS.  223 

hopefulness  and  energy  as  not  only  prevent  disaster, 
but  secure  success. 

The  word  of  God  is  full  of  exhortation  and  the 
Christian  religion  full  of  aid  for  the  development  of 
courage  and  hopefulness.  Moses  was  instructed  to 
command  Israel  in  these  words  prior  to  their  entrance 
into  the  land  of  promise :  "  Be  strong  and  of  a  good 
courage,  fear  not  nor  be  afraid  of  them,  for  the  Lord 
thy  God,  he  it  is  that  doth  go  with  thee ;  he  will  not 
leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  Deut.  xxxi,  6.  Joshua, 
as  the  leader  of  the  chosen  people,  was  exhorted  in 
similar  language,  which  may  properly  be  considered 
as  God's  command  to  every  leader  of  his  spiritual 
host:  "Be  thou  strong  and  very  courageous.  .  . 
Have  not  I  commanded  thee.?  Be  strong  and  of  a 
good  courage,  be  not  afraid,  neither  be  thou  dis- 
mayed ;  for  the  Lord  thy  God  is  with  thee  whither- 
soever thou  goest."  Joshua  i,  7,  9,  The  Psalms  of 
David  make  the  same  idea  prominent:  "Be  of  good 
courage  and  he  shall  strengthen  your  heart,  all  ye 
that  hope  in  the  Lord."  Psalm  xxxi,  24.  "Wait  on 
the  Lord :  be  of  good  courage  and  he  shall  strengthen 
thine  heart:  wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord."  xxvii,  14.  In 
the  forty-second  and  forty-third  Psalms  the  following 
rebuke  and  remedy  against  despondency  is  thrice  re- 
corded: "Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my  soul,  and 
why  art  thou  disquieted  in  me }  Hope  thou  in  God, 
who  is  the  health  of  my  countenance  and  my  God." 
Even  the  weeping  prophet  Jeremiah,  "the  man  that 
had  seen  affliction  by  the  rod  of  his  wrath,"  could 
sing,  "The  Lord  is  my  portion,  therefore  will  I  hope 
in  him.     .     .     .     It  is  a  good  thing  that  a  man  should 


224  HOPEFULNESS  OF  PETER  AND  PAUL, 

both  hope  and  quietly  wait  for  the  salvation  of  the 
Lord."  Lam.  iii,  24,  26.  The  lives  of  the  apostles 
were  filled  with  examples  of  the  courage  and  hopeful- 
ness inculcated  and  demanded  by  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity. Witness  the  boldness  of  Peter  and  the  other 
apostles  who,  having  been  cast  into  prison  and  straitly 
commanded  that  they  should  not  teach  in  the  name 
of  Jesus,  nevertheless  proceeded  to  fill  Jerusalem  with 
their  doctrine,  answering,  when  again  arraigned  by 
their  persecutors,  "  We  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than 
men."  Acts  v,  29.  The  motto  of  Peter's  life  is  given 
in  his  exhortation  to  the  members  of  the  general 
Church :  "  Gird  up  the  loins  of  your  mind,  be  sober, 
and  hope  to  the  end."     i  Peter  i,  13. 

Paul  was  also  a  model  of  courage  and  hopefulness, 
yielding  to  no  discouragement,  however  severe  the 
trials  to  which  he  was  subjected,  or  however  stern  the 
oppositions  he  was  called  to  encounter.  Witness  his 
defense  when  arraigned  before  kings  and  governors, 
and  also  the  cheerful  tone  pervading  his  communica- 
tions to  his  brethren,  whether  by  word  or  pen.  "  And 
now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto  Jerusalem, 
not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there : 
save  that  the  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city, 
saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me.  But  none 
of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear 
unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with 
joy,  and  the  ministry,  which  I  have  received  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  Acts  xx,  22-24.  "Therefore,  seeing 
we  have  received  this  ministry,  as  we  have  received 
mercy,  we  faint  not.  .  .  .  We  are  troubled  on  every 
side,  yet  not  distressed ;  we  are  perplexed,  but  not  in 


HE  A  VENL  Y-MINDEDNESS.  225 

despair  ;  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken  ;  cast  down,  but 
not  destroyed."  2  Cor.  iv,  i,  8,  9.  "Thou,  therefore, 
my  son,  be  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in  Christ 
Jesus."  "  Endure  hardness,  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ."  2  Tim.  ii,  i,  3.  "Watch  thou  in  all  things, 
endure  afflictions,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  make 
full  proof  of  thy  ministry.  For  I  am  now  ready  to  be 
offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  .  .  . 
Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  right- 
eousness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall 
give  me  at  that  day :  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all 
them  also  that  love  his  appearing."  2  Tim.  iv,  5-8. 
Let  all  pastors  who  would  maintain  an  apostolic  min- 
istry in  the  Church,  cultivate  the  magnanimous  spirit 
and  the  undaunted  hopefulness  of  which  the  apostles 
gave  so  glorious  an  example. 

B.  Religious  qualities  of  character. 

Let  us  now  consider  some  of  those  religious  char- 
acteristics which  are  essential  to  a  well-formed  pas- 
toral character.  Not  to-  discuss  religious  experience 
in  general,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  Christian 
minister  should  be  eminently  a  devout  man. 
A  Heavenly-mindedness  is  essential  to  the  influ- 
en\:es  most  of  all  important  for  a  pastor  to  exertj  It 
is  not  merely  desirable  that  a  religious  teacher  be 
dignified,  serious,  and  thoughtful,  but  he  should  be 
able  to  say  with  the  apostle,  "  Our  conversation  is  in 
heaven  ;"  and  to  illustrate  the  saying  in  all  his  inter- 
course with  the  people.  "  Out  of  the  fullness  of  the 
heart  the  mouth  speaketh  ;"  and  when  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  becomes  engrossed  with  worldly  concerns, 
or  delights   in  the  trivialities  which  occupy  worldly 


226  A  PASTOR'S  AFFECTION. 

minds,  he  is  but  poorly  fitted  to  "point  men  to 
heaven,  and  lead  the  way."  On  the  other  hand,  when 
the  concerns  of  this  life  appear  to  one  in  their  true 
light,  only  important  in  reference  to  their  bearings  on 
the  world  to  come,  he  has  a  primary  and  much-to-be- 
desired  preparation  to  discourse  to  men,  both  in  pri- 
vate and  in  public,  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the 
welfare  of  their  souls.  Such  a  man's  presence  in  any 
company  seems  to  be  surrounded  with  the  atmosphere 
of  a  better  world,  while  he  equally  attracts  by  his 
example,  and  wins  by  his  fitting  words. 

Love.  No  man  can  be  a  true  pastor  unless  he  has 
a  deep  and  genuine  experience  of  Christian  love.  The 
shepherd  of  souls  should  love  God  with  all  his  heart, 
and  his  neighbor  as  himself  Love  then  will  become 
to  him  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  It  will  at  once  sug- 
gest to  him  his  duties,  and  aid  him  in  their  discharge. 

"  Success  in  soul-saving  requires  a  warm  heart ;  eminent  suc- 
cess, a  hot  heart.  Icebergs  are  not  to  be  melted  by  moonbeams. 
Many  other  desirable  qualifications  may  be  dispensed  with,  but 
genuine,  spontaneous,  abiding  warmth  of  soul  toward  the  Savior 
and  toward  the  sinner  there  must  be,  or  a  man  can  not  be  a 
successful  Christian  worker.  Without  this  the  most  eminent 
endowments  only  make  failure  the  more  disgraceful. 

"It  seems  almost  impossible  for  some  Christians  to  get  rid 
of  the  notion  that  spiritual  results  can  be  secured  by  methods 
merely  material  and  intellectual.  Given  money  and  brains,  and 
it  is  often  assumed  you  have  force  enough  to  run  a  moral  reform, 
a  Sunday-school,  or  even  a  Church.  The  rebuking  voice  of  the 
Almighty  sounds  forth,  '  Not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by  my 
spirit,'  and  that  spirit  works  on  the  ungodly  mainly  through  the 
medium  of  the  hearts  which  have  already  felt  its  transforming 
power.  The  most  magnificent  floating  palace  ever  built  is  but  a 
cumbrous  hulk,  utterly  useless  for  the  single  purpose  of  its  con- 
struction until  its  fires  are  kindled,  and  its  heart  throbs,  and  its 
limbers  quiver  from  stem  to  stern  with  the  pulses  of  a  mighty  life. 


CONSTRAINING  LOVE.  22/ 

"There  is  no  possible  substitute  for  a  heart  aflame.  Brill- 
iancy may  dazzle,  but  it  takes  heat  to  kindle.  Chalmers  preaclied 
for  thirteen  years  before  his  conversion  with  a  keenness  of  logic, 
a  splendor  of  rhetoric,  and  a  majesty  of  eloquence  unsurpassed 
and  rarely  rivaled,  but  he  afterward  publicly  confessed  that  dur- 
ing all  that  time  his  ministry  not  only  failed  to  lead  any  one  to  a 
saving  acquaintance  with  Jesus,  but  that,  so  far  as  he  could  learn, 
it  had  '  not  the  weight  of  a  feather  upon  the  moral  habits '  of  his 
parishioners.  John  Wesley's  early  ministrations  in  England  and 
America  were  of  small  account,  but  when,  through  the  influence 
of  the  Moravians,  his  'heart  was  strangely  ivarined,^  God  gave 
him  a  tongue  of  fire,  and  the  scenes  of  the  Pentecost  were  re- 
enacted. 

"An  almost  passionate  devotion  to  the  work  of  saving  men 
seems  to  be  the  indispensable  condition  of  abundant  harvest- 
ing. John  Knox  was  wont  to  cry,  '  Give  me  Scotland  or  I  die  !' 
Whitefieid  would  often  pray,  '  O  Lord,  give  me  souls  or  take  my 
soul !'  Emmons  had  unutterable  groanings  over  sinners.  Con- 
cerning one  such  season  he  writes:  'The  agonies  of  that  hour 
can  never  be  told  ;  I  verily  thought  I  should  have  died.'  When 
the  burning  soul  of  Paul  had  been  pursuing  its  orbit  among  the 
nations  for  thirty  years,  driven  by  some  unseen  power,  and  leav- 
ing a  trail  of  glory  every-where,  he  gave  the  rationale  of  his  sub- 
lime career  in  six  words  :  'T-he  love  of  Christ  constraineth  me.' 
The  world  knows  what  came  of  these  furnace-heats  in  great 
souls.  The  conquests  of  the  Church  have  been  won  and  the 
history  of  the  nations  molded  by  them.  They  avouch  the  truth 
so  well  uttered  by  Lyman  Beecher  :  '  The  power  of  the  heart  set 
on  fire  by  love  is  the  greatest  created  power  in  the  universe.' 

"  But  we  need  not  limit  either  the  instruction  or  the  encour- 
agement of  this  theme  by  applying  them  solely  to  stars  of  the 
first  magnitude.  The  tiniest  taper  that  glimmers  in  a  hovel  is 
subject  to  the  same  conditions  of  shining  as  the  sun  itself. 
Grace  is  like  nature  in  the  universal  sweep  of  its  laws.  A  heart 
on  fire  with  love  to  Jesus  and  love  to  men  is  just  as  sure  to  win 
some  trophies  for  the  Master  through  the  pathetic  pleadings 
of  an  illiterate  Carvosso  as  by  the  inimitable  eloquence  of  a 
Summerfield.  Many  a  minister,  a  prayer-leader,  Sunday-school 
teacher,  or  private  Christian  of  no  more  than  ordinary  capacity 
might  entei  a  career  of  extraordinary  usefulness  by  securing  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     He  would  find  it  to  be  'power 


228  A   PASTOR'S  SYMPATHY. 

from  on  high.'  Many  a  professed  disciple  has  never  had  his 
Pentecost,  and  that  often  makes  the  diametrical  difference  be- 
tween a  skulking,  cursing  denial  and  a  lion-hearted  apostleship, 
as  it  did  with  Peter."  * 

True  Christian  love  is  sympathetic,  and  sympathy 
is  of  the  highest  importance  in  pastoral  labor.  The 
sympathy  required  in  this  work  is  something  more 
than  a  natural  tenderness  of  feeling ;  indeed,  it  is 
nothing  short  of  a  true  religious  affection.  It  feels 
for  the  woes  of  humanity  rather  than  seems  to  feel, 
and  cherishes  and  illustrates  its  feelings  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  golden  rule,  instead  of  being  controlled 
by  fitful  impulses.  This  kind  of  sympathy  was  man- 
ifested by  Christ  in  his  miracles  of  mercy  to  the  sick, 
the  lame,  the  blind,  and  even  in  restoring  the  dead  to 
life,  that  he  might  assuage  the  grief  of  a  widowed 
mother,  and  comfort  the  hearts  of  bereaved  sisters. 
Paul  had  this  sympathy  when  he  said,  "  I  say  the 
truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing 
me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  I  have  great  heav- 
iness and  continual  sorrow  in  my  heart.  For  I  could 
wish  that  myself  were  accursed  (separated)  from 
Christ  for  my  brethren,  my  kinsmen  according  to  the 
flesh."  Rom.  ix,  i,  3.  Also  when  he  wrote  other 
passages,  like  the  following :  "  My  little  children,  of 
whom  I  travail  in  birth  again  until  Christ  be  formed  in 
you."  Gal.  iv,  19.  "  God  is  my  record,  how  greatly 
I  long  after  you  all  in  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ." 
"  Yea,  and  if  I  be  offered  upon  the  sacrifice  and  serv- 
ice of  your  faith,  I  joy,  and  rejoice  with  you  all." 
Phil,  i,  8  ;  ii,  1 7.     Sympathy  for  the  poor  and  afflicted 

*  Christian  at  Work. 


PARTAKING   OF  OTHERS'  SORROWS.  229 

does  not  prompt  us  to  say,  "  Be  ye  warmed,  and  be  ye 
fed,"  but  it  arouses  effort  in  their  behalf  Sympathy 
for  sinners  does  not  lead  one  to  excuse  their  guilt, 
nor  to  partake  of  their  sins,  but  to  appreciate  their 
danger,  and  to  work  and  pray  for  their  rescue.  In- 
deed, true  sympathy  of  any  kind  does  not  exhaust 
itself  in  words,  but  expresses  itself  in  appropriate  and 
earnest  action.  Neither  does  it  become  cold  and 
dead  by  professional  routine,  but  it  is  deepened  by 
exercise,  and  intensified  by  all  the  higher  motives 
which  cluster  around  the  destinies  of  an  immortal 
soul.  The  law  of  Christian  sympathy,  though  brief, 
is  exceeding  broad.  The  apostle  states  it  in  this  pre- 
cept, "  Rejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice,  and  weep 
with  them  that  weep."  Rom.  xii,  15.  The  pastor 
who  fulfills  this  law  becomes  alike  a  participant  of 
the  joys  and  the  sorrows  of  the  members  of  his  flock, 
and  thus  endears  himself  to  them  by  double  ties. 
Whereas  he  who  holds  himself  aloof  from  either  the 
gladness  of  the  rejoicing,  or  the  tears  of  the  afflicted, 
loses  his  best  opportunity  for  winning  their  hearts. 
Human  life  alternates  between  joy  and  sorrow,  and 
the  periods  of  these  extremes  of  feeling  are  those  in 
which  all  persons  are  most  susceptible  of  moral  influ- 
ence— a  species  of  influence  which  a  pastor  must 
acquire  and  maintain,  or  his  mission  is  a  failure. 
Sympathy  is  needed  in  preaching  as  well  as  in  private 
address.  Indeed,  the  entering  wedge  of  influence 
with  congregations,  as  with  individuals,  is  sympathy. 
A  shrewd  observer  once  said,  "  I  have  noticed  that 
if  a  minister  can  only  convince  his  congregation,  dur- 
ing the  first  five  minutes,  that  he  cares  for  nothing 


230  HEAR  T-PO  WEK. 

but  to  save  their  souls,  he  will  kill  all  the  critics  in 
thejhouse." 

"^^Sympathy  ministers  largely  to  what  is  called  heart- 
power,  if,  indeed,  it  be  not  heart-power  itsej^  As 
love  begets  love,  so  the  sympathetic  pastor  entwines 
around  himself  the  affections  of  his  people,  and  thus 
secures  the  most  direct  if  not  the  only  mode  of  ac- 
cess to  their  hearts.  Of  all  the  agencies  of  Christian 
influence  this  is  the  best  and  most  certain  of  success. 
Hence  it  needs  to  be  studied  and  cultivated,  and  con- 
tinually practiced. 

"  Ah,  how  skillful  grows  the  hand 
That  obeyeth  Love's  command  ! 
It  is  the  heart,  and  not  the  brain, 
That  to  the  highest  doth  attain  ; 
And  he  who  followeth  Love's  behest, 
Far  excelleth  all  the  rest."* 

It  is  interesting  to  observe,  that  various  Christian 
Churches,  which  have  heretofore  been  supposed  to  be 
indifferent  to  heart-power,  as  compared  with  stern 
logic,  or  the  calm  compulsions  of  reason,  are  now 
earnestly  inculcating  the  former  as  a  grand  essential 
of  ministerial  success. 

A  minister  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  f 
recently  said,  addressing  Presbyterian  theological 
students : 

"Give  full  play  to  your  own  heart  while  writing,  and  while  you 
are  preaching.  Touch  the  tender  chords.  I  very  much  doubt 
whether  the  man  who  has  no  pathos  in  his  nature  was  ever 
Cci;led  of  God  to  the  sacred  ministry.  Beecher's  highest  power 
is  in  his  pathos  ;  so  is  Dr.  Guthrie's.  Remember  that  your 
people  have  cradles  in  their  houses,  and  sick-beds,  and  are  all 

*  Longfellow.  t  Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler. 


A  RECOGNIZED  NECESSITY.  23 1 

of  them  men  and  women  'of  like  passions'  with  yourself.  If 
you  can  't  help  weeping,  then  weep  ;  if  your  feelings  overcome 
you,  then  break  down  I  It  may  break  some  others  down  too, 
and  reach  the  fount  of  their  tears.  President  M'Cosh  lately 
described  to  me  a  wonderful  scene  in  the  Scotch  General 
Assembly,  when  Alexander  Duff  spoke  for  two  hours  to  an 
audience,  who,  for  the  most  part,  were  opposed  to  his  views, 
and  yet  he  so  completely  broke  them  down  by  his  overwhelming 
pathos,  that  every  man  in  the  multitude  was  weeping  ;  and  the 
member  of  Parliament  who  went  around  to  "lift"  the  mission- 
ary collection  afterward,  walked  with  his  handkerchief  to  his 
eyes,  and  the  tears  dropping  from  his  cheeks  !  The  vast  assem- 
bly was  a  perfect  BocJiim. 

"  The  two  most  successful  ministers  in  New  York  are  not  men 
who  preach  splendid  intellectual  discourses,  but  are  possessed 
of  this  heart-power,  both  in  the  pulpit,  the  prayer-meeting,  and 
in  their  pastoral  work.  Young  brethren  !  aim  from  the  start  to 
be  thorough  pastors.  During  the  week,  go  to  those  whom  you 
expect  to  come  to  you  on  the  Sabbath.  In  the  morning  of  each 
day,  study  books  ;  in  the  afternoon,  study  door-plates  and  hu- 
inmi  nature.  Your  people  will  give  you  material  for  your  best 
practical  sermons.  After  an  effective  Sunday  work,  go  around 
among  your  flock,  as  Napoleon  rode  over  the  field  after  a  battle, 
to  see  where  the  shot  struck,  and  who  were  among  the  wounded. 

"  In  pastoral  visiting,  go  where  you  are  needed  the  most.  If 
you  neglect  any  body,  neglect  the  strong,  the  cultured,  and  the 
godly.  Go  to  the  unconverted  ;  go  to  the  suffering ;  and  go  to 
those  houses  where  the  world  comes  the  least.  Get  acquainted 
with  every  body,  and  do  n't  forget  to  recognize  every  body  in 
the  street.  Always  have  a  good  tract  or  two  in  your  pocket, 
and  a  kind  word  on  your  lips.  Be  sure  of  this,  that  every  per 
son,  high  or  humble,  likes  personal  attention  (sympathy)." 

A  Congregational  professor*  at  Andover  exhortj> 
his  students  in  the  following  language  : 

"A  preacher  had  better  work  in  the  dark,  with  nothing  but 
mother-wit,  a  quickened  conscience,  and  a  Saxon  Bible  to  teach 
bim  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it,  than  to  vault  into  an  aerial 

*  Professor  Phelps. 


232  REACH  THE  MASSES. 

ministry,  in  which  only  the  upper  classes  shall  know  or  care  any 
thing  about  him.  You  had  better  go  and  talk  the  gospel,  in  the 
Cornish  dialect,  to  those  miners  who  told  the  witnesses,  sum- 
moned by  tiie  committee  of  the  English  Parliament,  that  they 
had  'never  heard  of  Mister  Jesus  Christ  in  these  mines,'  than 
to  do  the  work  of  the  Bishop  of  London.  Make  your  ministry 
reach  the  people  ;  in  the  forms  of  purest  culture  if  you  can,  but 
reach  the  people;  with  elaborate  doctrine  if  possible,  but  reach 
the  people ;  with  classic  speech  if  it  may  be,  but  reach  the  people. 
The  great  problem  of  life  to  an  educated  ministry  is,  to  make 
their  culture  2i power  instead  of  a  luxury.  Our  temptations  are 
all  one  way.     Our  mission  is  all  the  other  way. 

"It  is  not,  then,  less  education  that  our  clergy  need.  It  is 
inconceivable  to  me  how  any  educated  man  can  see  relief  from 
our  present  dangers,  or  from  any  dangers,  in  that  direction. 
Ignorance  is  a  remedy  for  nothing.  So,  imperfection  of  culture 
is  always  a  misfortune. 

"  But  we  do  need  coftsecration  of  culture.  This  is  the  thing 
which  the  world  is  blindly  craving. 

"Above  all,  we  need  faith  in  the  Christian  ideal  of  culture, 
which  measures  its  value  by  its  use  ;  its  dignity  by  its  lowliness  ; 
its  height  in  character  by  its  depth  of  reach  after  souls  below  it. 
This  was  Christ's  own  ideal  of  culture.  He  possessed  no  other  ; 
he  respected  no  other ;  he  denounced  every  other  most  fear- 
fully. Not  an  act  of  his  life,  not  a  word  from  his  lips,  gives  any 
evidence  that  he  would  have  tolerated  the  awful  anomaly  of  cler- 
ical life,  in  which  a  man  ministers  placidly  in  a  palatial  Church 
to  none  but  elect  and  gilded  hearers,  with  all  the  paraphernalia 
of  elegance  around  him,  and  with  culture  expressed  in  the  very 
fragrance  of  the  atmosphere,  while  '  Five  Points,'  and  '  Old 
Breweries,'  and  'Ann  Streets'  are  growing  up  uncared  for  by 
any  labors  of  his,  within  hearing  of  his  organ  and  his  quartette. 

"Our  guard  against  the  peril  here  indicated,  then,  is  spiritual, 
as  distinct  from  intellectual,  in  its  nature.  The  cry  should  be, 
not  'Less  intellect!  less  study!  less  culture!'  but  simply, 
'More  heart!  more  prayer!  more  godliness!  more  subjection 
of  culture  to  the  salvation  of  those  who  have  little  or  none  of  it !' 

"  Prune  down  any  theory  which,  for  reasons  yet  unknown  to 
yo\i,yo7i  can  not  work  to  advantage,  so  as  to  make  your  way  to 
the  people's  hearts.  Stretch  your  theory  to  the  facts  of  your 
life's  work,  be  they  what  they  may.     Hold  no  theory  for  a  day 


CULTIVATION  OF  HEART-POWER,  233 

which  is  not  elastic  enough  to  compass  the  necessities  of  your 
position.  I  have  failed  in  my  endeavors  to  help  you  if  you  have 
derived  from  my  words  any  such  theory. 

*'  Esteem  no  institutions  sacred  vvhicii  set  you  above  and  aloof 
from  the  commonalty.  Revere  no  clerical  usages,  no  laws  of 
etiquette,  no  guards  of  your  reputation,  no  proprietary  claims, 
which  require  you  to  hold  back  from  personal  labor  with  the 
humblest  or  the  most  guilty.  Yield  to  no  churchly  sentiments, 
or  whispered  arrangements,  or  tacit  understandings,  or  unut- 
tered  disgusts,  through  which  Churches  shall  be  gathered  by 
the  law  of  social  affinity  instead  of  the  law  of  benevolence  ;  so 
that  their  pastors  can  not  get  at  the  poor  and  the  degraded,  be- 
cause there  are  none  such  within  hearing. 

"  Refuse  to  be  pastors  of  such  Churches  if  they  insist  upon 
their  exclusiveness.  ,  Accept  rather  the  calls  of  the  '  low-born 
and  low-bred.'  Let  it  be  said  of  you,  "This  man  eateth  with 
publicans  and  sinners.'  Refuse  to  be  tempted  by  Churches  in 
which  pageantry  of  architecture,  pomp  of  worship,  operatic  mu- 
sic, patrician  c;iste,  sumptuous  dress,  and  other  forms  of  un- 
christian luxury,  will  conspire  against  you,  making  it  impossible 
for  the  poor  to  be  there  if  they  would,  and  making  them  unwill- 
ing to  be  there  if  they  could.  The  m;in  was  never  born  who 
could  long  carry  the  load  of  such  a  Church  as  that,  with  a 
Christ-like  love  of  souls  in  his  heart." 

Such  teachings  are  in  full  accord  with  both  the 
theory  and  the  practice  of  Methodism,  as  illustrated 
in  the  whole  history  of  its  past  successes.  And  while 
we  may  rejoice  that  Christians  of  other  ChurclTes  are 
adopting  and  commending  similar  theories  and  prac- 
tice, it  is  important  that  we,  as  well  as  they,  give 
increased  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  heart-power, 
and  its  application  to  the  masses  of  the  people.  There 
are  two  modes  of  acquiring  this  great  gift 
of  heart-power,  which  we  all  so  much  need,  quiring  hean- 
The  first  is  a  genuine  heart-experience  in  ^^^^^' 
the  deep  things  of  God  ;  and  the  second  is  personal 
experience  and  confidence,  growing  out   of  diligent 


234  ^   GOOD   OMEN. 

efforts  to  win  the  souls  of  those  needing  our  minis- 
trations by  close  heart-contact  with  them. 

It  is  a  happy  omen  of  the  times  in  which  we  live 
that  even  the  Roman  Catholics,  who,  in  former  days, 
relied  on  priestly  authority,  and  on  scourges,  penances, 
and  tortures  to  compel  religious  submission,  and  to 
enforce  conformity  to  their  usages,  are  now  learning 
and  teaching  a  better  way  to  reach  and  influence  the 
people. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  a  book  officially 
issued  by  the  Catholic  Publication  Society  of  New 
York,  entitled  "The  Clergy  and  the  Pulpit,  in  their 
relations  to  the  people  by  the  Abbe  Mullois." 

"  To  address  men  well  they  must  be  loved  much.  Whatever 
they  may  be,  be  they  ever  so  guilty,  or  indifferent,  or  ungrateful, 
or  however  deeply  they  may  be  sunk  in  crime,  before  all  and 
above  all  they  must  be  loved.  Love  is  the  sap  of  the  gospel, 
the  secret  of  lively,  effectual  preaching,  the  magic  power  of  elo- 
quence. The  end  of  preaching  is  to  reclaim  the  hearts  of  men 
to  God,  and  nothing  but  love  can  find  out  the  mysterious  ave- 
nues which  lead  to  the  heart.  We  are  always  eloquent  when  we 
wish  to  save  one  whom  we  love  ;  we  are  always  listened  to  when 
we  are  loved.  But  when  a  hearer  is  not  moved  by  love,  instead 
of  listening  to  the  truth  he  ransacks  his  mind  for  something 
wherewith  to  repel  it,  and  in  so  doing  human  depravity  is  sel- 
dom at  fault.  If,  then,  you  do  not  feel  a  fervent  love  and  pro- 
found pity  for  humanity,  if  in  beholding  its  miseries  and  errors 
you  do  not  experience  the  throbbings,  the  holy  thrillings  of 
charity,  be  assured  that  the  gift  of  Christian  eloquence  has  been 
denied  you.  You  will  not  win  souls,  neither  will  you  ever  gain 
influence  over  them,  and  you  will  never  acquire  that  most  excel- 
lent of  earthly  sovereignties,  sovereignty  over  the  hearts  of 
men."  "To  be  co-workers  with  Christ  in  regenerating  and  sav- 
ing mankind  we  must  love  it  as  he  loved.  He  first  did  men 
good,  then  he  addressed  them.  Hence  it  was  that  the  people, 
unmindful  of  their  most  urgent  wants,  followed  him,  exclaiming, 
'Never  man  spake  like  this  man.'"     "It  is  not  by  essays  of 


CHRISTIAN  ZEAL.  235 

reasoning,  any  more  than  by  the  sword,  that  the  moral  world  is 
to  be  swayed.  A  little  knowledge,  much  sound  sense,  and  much 
more  heart  are  what  is  requisite  to  raise  the  great  mass,  the  peo- 
ple, and  to  cleanse  and  purify  them.  To  be  able  to  reason  is 
luiman,  very  human,  and  one  who  is  a  man  and  nothing  more 
may  possess  that  ability  as  well  as  you,  perhaps  in  a  higher 
degree.  But  to  love,  to  devote  one's  self,  to  sacrifice  self,  is 
something  unearthly,  divine,  possessing  a  magic  power.  Self- 
devotion,  moreover,  is  the  only  argument  against  which  human 
malevolence  can  find  no  answer."  "  Have  a  heart,  then,  in  deal- 
ing with  the  people  ;  have  charity ;  love  and  cause  others  to 
love,  to  feel,  to  thrill,  to  weep."  "What  a  grand  mission,  what 
a  glorious  heritage  is  that  of  loving  our  fellow-men  !  Let  others 
seek  to  lord  it  over  them  and  to  win  their  applause,  for  my  part  I 
prefer  holding  out  a  hand  to  ihem,  to  bless  and  to  pity  them,  con- 
vinced by  a  secret  instinct  that  it  is  the  best  way  to  save  them." 

Would  that  all  priests  and  prelates  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  might  hereafter  learn  and  practice  the  pious 
and  charitable  precepts  of  the  Abbe  Mullois !  By  so 
doing  they  would  be  effectually,  however  insensibly, 
prepared  to  discard  the  errors  of  their  system,  and  to 
adopt  more  spiritual  conceptions  of  Christianity.* 

Space  will  not  allow  further  discussion  of  the  relig- 
ious qualities  important  in  pastoral  character,  save  a 
brief  notice  of  that  holy  zeal  which  is  necessary  to 
kindle  all  the  others  into  efficient  action.  Christian 
zeal  is  a  passionate  devotion  to  the  worship  and  serv- 
ice of  God,  in  accordance  with  the  example  and  com- 
mands of  Christ.  It  needs  to  burn  in  the  soul  of  a 
minister  with  an  undying  flame.  It  may  take  either 
the  form  of  a  righteous  indignation  against  sin,  or  ot 
burning,  self-consuming  love  toward   the  sinner.     It 

*It  is  proper  to  say  that  the  paragraphs  quoted  are  quite  the  best 
specimens  of  the  Abbe's  book.  Many  passages  in  it  betray  not  only 
narrow  views,  but  the  superstitious  notions  of  the  Church  and  clergy 
which  he  represents. 


236  CHRIST  IN  THE    TEMPLE. 

may  prompt  to  equal  activity  in  opposing  wrong  or 
establishing  right.  The  Savior  himself  gave  an  ex- 
ample of  the  former  when  he  "found  in  the  temple 
those  that  sold  oxen,  and  sheep,  and  doves,  and  the 
changers  of  money  sitting:  and  when  he  had  made  a 
scourge  of  small  cords  he  drove  them  all  out  of  the 
temple,  and  the  sheep,  and  the  oxen,  and  poured  out 
the  changers'  money,  and  overthrew  the  tables ;  and 
said  unto  them  that  sold  doves.  Take  these  things 
hence ;  make  not  my  Father's  house  a  house  of  mer- 
chandise. And  his  disciples  remembered  that  it  was 
written.  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up." 
John  ii,  14-17. 

In  the  Old  Testament  zeal  is  represented  as  an 
attribute  of  the  Most  High.  When  Isaiah  foretold 
the  advent  of  the  Prince  of  peace,  and  declared  "  of 
the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall 
be  no  end,"  he  added,  "the  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts 
will  perform  this."  Isaiah  ix,  7.  Isaiah  again  said: 
"And  he  [the  Lord]  saw  that  there  was  no  man, 
and  wondered  that  there  was  no  intercessor;  there- 
fore his  arm  brought  salvation  unto  him,  and  his 
righteousness  it  sustained  him.  For  he  put  on  right- 
eousness as  a  breast-plate,  and  a  helmet  of  salvation 
upon  his  head ;  and  he  put  on  the  garments  of  ven- 
geance for  clothing,  and  was  clad  with  zeal  as  a 
cloak."     lix,  16,  17. 

Under  the  new  dispensation  divine  zeal  assumed  a 
milder  form  and  more  tender  aspect,  especially  as  it 
culminated  in  the  sufferings  of  Calvary,  where  Jesus 
trod  alone  the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and  the 
wrath  of  Almighty  God.     Isaiah  Ixiii,  3  ;  Rev.  xix,  15. 


APOSTOLIC  ZEAL.  23/ 

Thenceforward  true  zeal  for  God  could  only  be  found 
in  obedience  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  in  harmony 
with  the  meekness  and  purity  of  the  Redeemer's 
character.  In  the  New  Testament  a  clear  discrimi- 
nation is  made  between  blind  or  unenlightened  zeal 
and  that  which  is  according  to  knowledge. 

The  apostle  Paul  deplores  his  own  former  zeal  as  a 
Jew,  persecuting  the  Church  and  cherishing  the  tra- 
ditions of  his  fathers,  and  yet  he  affirms  that  "it  is 
good  to  be  zealously  affected  always  in  a  good  thing." 
Indeed,  the  same  apostle,  whose  zeal  was  illustrated 
in  tireless  and  life-long  efforts  to  make  known  the 
gospel  among  the  Gentiles,  represents  that  the  great 
object  of  Christ  in  giving  himself  for  us  was  "that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto 
himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works." 
Titus  ii,  14.  The  apostle  Paul  also  commends  zeal 
for  spiritual  gifts,  i  Cor.  xiv,  12.  Here,  then,  is 
scriptural  guidance  for  the  zeal  of  a  pastor.  He 
needs  to  be  zealous  of  spiritual  gifts  that  he  "may 
excel  to  the  edifying  of  the  Church,"  and  also  zealous 
of  those  good  works  which  are  always  the  test  of 
faith  and  love. 

Zeal  is  the  opposite  of  lukewarmness.  It  is  irrec- 
oncilable with  inaction.  It  is  a  source  of  power, 
whether  in  the  heart  of  a  minister  or  in  the  bosom 
of  a  Church,  whereas  the  influence  exerted  by  indi- 
viduals or  Churches  toward  saving  men  and  mak- 
ing the  world  better  is  the  measure  of  their  zeal. 
Zeal  may  be  sometimes  impulsive,  but,  if  sustained 
by  principle  and  perseverance,  it  may  be  none  the 
less  valuable.     An  anonymous  writer  has  sought  to 


238  FOLLOW  CHRIST. 

quicken  ministerial  zeal  by  reference  to  a  tradition  of 
the  age  of  chivalry,  in  which  it  is  related  that 

"  A  Scottish  king,  when  dying,  bequeathed  his  heart  to  the 
most  trusty  and  beloved  of  his  nobles,  to  be  carried  to  Pales- 
tine. Inclosing  the  precious  deposit  in  a  golden  case,  and 
suspending  it  from  his  neck,  the  knight  went  out  with  his  com- 
panions. When  on  his  way  to  Syria  he  was  hard  pressed  by 
the  Moors  of  Spain.  That  he  might  be  inspired  with  super- 
natural courage,  as  it  were — as  an  incitement  to  break  victorious 
through  his  thronging  foes — he  snatched  the  charge  intrusted  to 
him  from  his  neck,  and,  flinging  it  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies, 
exclaimed,  '  Forth,  heart  of  Bruce,  as  thou  wast  wont,  and 
Douglas  will  follow  thee  or  die.'  And  so  he  perished  in  the 
endeavor  to  reclaim  it  from  the  trampling  feet  of  the  infidels, 
and  to  force  his  way  out. 

"  Such  is  the  position  of  the  minister  of  Christ  when  encount- 
ering the  hosts  of  heathenism  and  sin.  Our  Master's  .heart  has 
flung  itself  in  advance  of  our  steps.  In  the  rushing  crowds  that 
withstand  us,  there  is  not  one  for  whom  that  heart  has  not  sym- 
pathized and  bled,  however  rebellious  and  depraved.  Be  it  ours 
to  follow  the  leadings  of  his  heart,  and  to  pluck  it,  as  it  were, 
from  the  feet  of  those  who,  in  ignorant  superstition,  apathetic 
indifference,  or  open  profanity,  tread  under  foot  the  Son  of  God, 
and  count  the  blood  of  the  covenant  an  unholy  thing. 

"The  illustration  in  its  close  is  defective,  for  with  us  success 
Is  promised  and  victory  is  sure  ;  so  that  with  the  Psalmist,  in 
the  language  of  holy  confidence,  we  can  say,  '  I  shall  not  die, 
but  live  and  declare  the  works  of  the  Lord.' 

"  It  was  predicted  of  the  Messiah  that  he  should  see  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied  ;  that  his  earthly  ministry 
should  be  successful ;  that  the  great  anxiety  whicli  stirred  within 
his  bosom,  and  carried  him  forward  to  his  baptism  of  blood, 
should  be  appeased.  This  travail  of  soul  was  for  souls.  It 
was  for  the  lost.  Behold  the  Savior  among  the  men  of  his  gen- 
eration. He  was  bent  upon  plucking  men  as  brands  from  the 
burning.  He  put  his  hand  of  blessing  upon  their  little  children. 
He  lifted  their  dead,  and  they  lived  again.  He  showed  them  the 
way  of  life.  But  they  wanted  no  such  man  among  them.  The 
light  that  went  from  him  disturbed  them,  as  the  hght  of  the  sun 
disturbs  the  bats  and  owls  in  old  ruins. 


TRAVAIL   OF  SOUL.  239 

"But  Christ's  life  only  prepared  the  way  for  his  death.  This 
was  to  be  the  corner-stone  of  man's  salvation.  And  this  death 
was  the  highest  expression  of  the  Redeemer's  travail  of  soul 
for  souls.  He  made  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin.  He  died  the 
just,  over  whom  death  had  no  power,  for  the  unjust,  the  wages 
of  whose  sin  was  death.  And  he  was  in  an  agony  of  desire  and 
expectation  until  the  work  was  accomplished.  '  I  have  a  bap- 
tism to  be  baptized  with,  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be 
accomplished.'  And  this  travail  of  soul  was  satisfied.  Even 
as  he  hung  upon  the  cross,  a  sin-bitten  soul,  a  yearning  penitent, 
cried,  '  Lord,  remember  me.'  And  he  did  remember  him,  and 
saved  him  then  and  there. 

"  No  man  can  have  any  great  warmth  of  religious  feeling,  or 
any  close  sympathy  with  the  thoughts  and  purposes  of  his  divine 
Master,  without  having  in  his  degree  the  same  anxiety  for  the 
salvation  of  men,  without  the  same  willingness  and  purpose  to 
devote  himself  to  effecting  their  salvation.  But  it  is  said, '  There 
is  no  reh'gious  interest  now.'  So  there  was  not  when  Christ 
came  from  heaven  to  show  his  travail  of  soul  for  sinners.  The 
Jewish  Church  was  cold  and  dead  as  a  tomb.  He  found  no 
response  in  it  but  the  echo  of  his  own  voice  ;  and  yet  he  went 
forward.  The  baptism  was  on  him.  The  work  was  before  him. 
There  was  no  religious  interest ;  and  that  is  why  he  girded  him- 
self, and  encountered  hell  and  the  grave.  It  was  to  awaken 
religious  interest.  It  was  to  kindle  a  fire  ;  to  arouse  the  souls 
of  men  to  escape  from  tlie  consequences  of  sin,  and  to  lay  hold 
on  eternal  life." 

A  similar  work  he  has  bequeathed  to  his  followers 
in  every  successive  period  of  time.  To  accomplish  it, 
his  ministers  must  cherish  a  pure  and  quenchless  zeal 
which  will  continually  seek  to  diffuse  and  perpetuate 
itself  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  their  fellow-men. 

C.  Habits. 

The  power  of  habit  has  been  so  often  illustrated, 
and  the  consequent  importance  of  good  habits  so  fully 
demonstrated,  that  it  can  only  be  necessary  at  this 
point  to  suggest  some  of  those  habits  or  modes  of 
action  which  are  specially  important  to  pastors  as  a 


240  PAULS  SELF-ADAPTATION, 

means  of  increasing  their  moral  power  in  any  com- 
munity where  their  lot  may  be  cast.  Of  these  it  may 
suffice  to  mention  activity  and  diligence,  as  a 
means  of  redeeming  time  and  profiting  by  opportuni- 
ties ;  ACCURACY  and  thoroughness,  as  essential  to 
doing  well  and  completing  properly  whatever  is  taken 
in  hand  ;  promptness  and  punctuality,  as  a  means 
of  saving  one's  own  time  and  that  of  others. 

To  these  may  be  added,  with  especial  emphasis, 
the  habit  of  self-adaptation  to  men  and  circum- 
stances. This  habit  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the 
example  and  language  of  Paul  the  apostle :  "  Though 
I  be  free  from  all  men,  yet  have  I  made  myself  serv- 
ant unto  all,  that  I  might  gain  the  more.  Unto  the 
Jews  I  became  as  a  Jew,  that  I  might  gain  the  Jews ; 
to  them  that  are  under  the  law,  as  under  the  law,  that 
I  might  gain  them  that  are  under  the  law ;  to  them 
that  are  without  law,  as  without  law,  that  I  might  gain 
them  that  are  without  law.  To  the  weak  I  became  as 
weak,  that  I  might  gain  the  weak:  I  am  made  all 
things  to  all  men,  that  I  might  by  all  means  save 
some.  And  this  I  do  for  the  gospel's  sake,  that  I 
might  be  partaker  thereof  with  you."  i  Cor.  ix,  19- 
23.  The  purpose  and  habit  of  self-adaptation  is  op- 
posed to  the  formality  of  fixed  or  ceremonious  routine. 
It  requires  careful  observation,  correct  judgment,  and 
a  certain  inventiveness,  without  which  a  person  is 
at  a  loss  how  to  proceed,  or,  having  erred,  finds  it 
difficult  to  correct  his  mistakes.  It,  however,  does 
not  involve,  nor  does  any  language  of  the  apostle 
countenance,  the  slightest  deflection  from  high  moral 
rectitude.      On    the   other   hand,   the   principle   and 


CONSISTENCY.  2^\ 

practice  of  Christian  adaptation  must  be  regulated 
by  a  pure  and  enlightened  conscience  in  all  possible 
circumstances. 

Inventiveness  in  a  pastor  is  highly  important  in 
reference  to  the  various  plans  and  arrangements  re- 
quired in  administering  the  affairs  of  a  Church.  It 
needs,  however,  to  be  guarded  as  well  as  stimulated, 
lest  it  degenerate  into  the  habit  of  making*  changes 
for  the  sake  of  change. 

Superadded  to  all  other  good  habits  must  be  that 
of  CONSISTENCY.  The  term  consistency,  from  consis- 
tere,  to  stand  together,  suggests  the  idea  of  harmoni- 
ous co-existence.  Consistency,  in  its  broadest  sense, 
demands,  not  merely  harmony  in  all  the  elements  of 
one's  character,  but  such  a  balance  and  co-operation 
of  all  those  elements  as  will  avoid  self-antagonisms, 
and  secure  the  highest  efficiency  of  Christian  and 
ministerial  effort  in  every  department  of  labor.  Man- 
kind generally  have  an  acute  sense  of  congruity  as 
applied  to  character.  This  fact  is  indicated  by  the  cur- 
rent proverb,  "  Consistency  is  a  jewel ;"  and  also  still 
more  strongly  by  the  proverb,  current  even  in  our  Sav- 
ior's day,  "  Physician,  heal  thyself"  A  Christian  min- 
ister must  be  consistent  with  his  position  as  a  teacher, 
otherwise  his  example  may  counteract  his  precepts. 
He  must  also  be  consistent  with  himself  and  his  own 
professions.  If  a  Christian  be  the  highest  style  of 
man,  a  minister  should  be  the  highest  style  of  Chris- 
tian. This  requirement  involves  not  only  the  neces- 
sity of  a  deep  religious  experience,  but  also  of  a  life 
in  all  respects  corresponding.  A  pastor  must  there- 
fore be  consistent  with  his  own  highest  ideal  of  a 

21 


242  DEMANDS  OF  CONSISTENCY. 

perfect  character.  To  voluntarily  come  short  of  that, 
and  to  apologize  to  himself  for  inconsistencies,  even 
though  known  to  himself  alone,  will  be  to  forfeit  his 
self-respect,  and  to  lay  himself  open  to  failure,  and 
even  to  apostasy.  Far  above  the  observations  and 
criticisms  of  others,  he  should  continually  aspire  to 
that  holiness  of  life  and  completeness  of  character 
required  by  the  Judge  of  all.  Any  thing  short  of  this 
will  be  inconsistent  with  the  higher  obligations  of  his 
sacred  profession. 

This  chapter  may  be  fitly  closed  with  Bishop  Ken's 

"PORTRAIT  OF  A  PASTOR. 

Give  me  the  priest  these  graces  shall  possess — 

Of  an  embassador  the  just  address ; 

A  father's  tenderness,  a  shepherd's  care, 

A  leader's  courage,  which  the  cross  can  bear; 

A  ruler's  awe,  a  watchman's  wakeful  eye, 

A  pilot's  skill  the  helm  in  storms  to  ply; 

A  fisher's  patience,  a  laborer's  too, 

A  guide's  dexterity  to  disembroil ; 

A  prophet's  inspiration  from  above, 

A  teacher's  knowledge,  and  a  Savior's  love. 

Give  me  the  priest,  a  light  upon  a  hill, 

"Whose  rays  his  whole  circumference  can  fill ; 

In  God's  own  word  and  sacred  learning  versed, 

Deep  in  the  study  of  the  heart  immersed; 

"Who  in  sick  souls  can  the  disease  descry. 

And  wisely  for  restoratives  apply ; 

To  beatific  pastures  leads  his  sheep, 

"Watchful  from  hellish  wolves  his  fold  to  keep; 

"Who  seeks  not  a  convenience,  but  a  cure, 

"Would  rather  souls  than  his  own  gain  insure ; 

Instructive  in  his  visits  and  converse. 

Strives  every- where  salvation  to  disperse; 

Of  a  mild,  humble,  and  obliging  heart, 

"Who  'with  his  all  does  to  the  needy  part ; 

Distrustful  of  himself,  in  God  confides ; 

Daily  himself  among  his  flock  divides ; 

Of  virtue  uniform,  and  cheerful  air, 


PORTRAITURE,  245 

Fix'd  meditation,  and  incessant  prayer; 

Affections  mortified,  well -guided  zeal, 

Of  saving  truth  the  relish  wont  to  feel ; 

Whose  province — heaven — all  his  endeavor  shares, 

Who  mixes  with  no  secular  affairs ; 

Oft  on  his  pastoral  account  reflects, 

By  holiness,  not  riches,  gains  respect ; 

Who  is  all  that  he  rvotild  have  others  be, 

From  willful  sin,  though  not  from  frailty  free ; 

Who  still  keeps  Jesus  in  his  heart  and  head, 

Whostrives  in  steps  of  one  Arch- Priest  to  tread; 

Who  can  himself  and  all  the  world  deny, 

Live  pilgrim  here,  but  denizen  on  high." 


Note.— John  Wesley's  "Address  to  the  Clergy,"  written  in  1756,  and  published  in 
the  American  edition  of  liis  works,  at  page  217,  volume  vi,  contains  many  thoughts  on 
Ministerial  Qualifications  which  are  scarcely  less  adapted  to  the  present  period  than  to 
that  in  which  ihey  were  written. 


244  PERSONAL  DUTIES, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  DUTIES   OF  A   PASTOR— PERSONAL. 

A  MINISTER'S  calling,  his  qualifications,  and  his 
appointment  all  point  in  one  direction,  that  of 
duty.  The  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  are,  from  the 
first,  numerous  and  responsible.  In  the  progress  of 
events  they  become  complicated  and  absorbing. 

Pastoral  duties  may  be  considered  as  belonging  to 
two  great  classes,  personal  and  public.  The  latter 
can  never  be  rightly  discharged  by  one  who  neglects 
the  former.  Hence  it  is  proper  to  commence  the 
discussion  of  pastoral  duties  by  considering  what  the 
pastor  owes  to  himself 

All  religious  obligation  centers  in  individual  per- 
sons. "  For  himself  every  one  must  give  account 
unto  God."  The  pastor  is  no  exception.  Rather,  in 
proportion  to  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of  his 
office,  a  pastor's  personal  obligations  are  increased. 
Because  a  pastor  he  ought  to  be  none  the  less  a 
man,  but,  indeed,  all  the  more  a  man  and  a  Chris- 
tian. The  apostle  Paul  recognized  the  primary  obli- 
gation of  personal  duty  when  he  exhorted  Timothy 
in  these  words:  "Take  heed  unto  thyself  and  unto 
the  doctrine,  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save 
thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee."    Also  in  his  charge 


PHYSICAL  CONSTITUTION,  245 

to  the  Ephesian  elders:  "Take  heed,  therefore,  unto 
yourselves  and  to  all  the  flock." 

A  minister's  personal  obligations  involve  what  re- 
lates to  his  bodily  health  and  vigor,  the  improvement 
of  his  time,  the  cultivation  of  his  mind,  his  domestic 
duties,  and  his  private  religious   exercises.     He  has 
committed  to  him  as  the   gift  of  God  talents,  time, 
and  opportunities,  three  great  elements  out  of  which 
he  is  required  to  elaborate  results  for  the  divine  glory. 
With  all  his  high  spiritual  responsibilities,  he  can 
never   ignore   his   physical   relations.     While   in    the 
body  he  is  "of  the  earth,  earthy."     He  must  eat  and 
sleep  like  other  men.     But  not,  as  some  other  men  do, 
may  he  make  eating,  sleeping,  or  other  physical  grati- 
fications a  chief  end  in  life.     With  him,  although  not 
to  be  disregarded  as  gratifications,  they  are  chiefly  to 
be  contemplated  as  means  necessary  to  nobler  ends 
and  higher  objects.     That  a  minister's  material  exist- 
ence may  be  worthy  of  himself  and  conducive  to  the 
special  objects  of  his  life,  he  must  not  be  indiflerent 
to  physiological  science.     Rather  he  should  embrace 
in  his  knowledge  of  the  universe  a  thoroughly  scien- 
tific acquaintance  with  the  anatomical  structure  and 
vital  functions  of  his  own  physical  system.     He  should 
understand  the  laws  of  health,  and  conform  his  habits 
to  such  uses  of  his  eyes,  his  ears,  and  his  voice  as 
will  conduce  to  their  most  efficient  agency  in  his  great 
work.     He  should  deem  it  obligatory  upon  him   to 
allot  the  necessary  amount  of  time  and  put  forth  the 
requisite  exertions  not  merely  to  preserve  health,  but 
to  secure  such  a  physical  cultivation  as  will  give  him 
the  best  use  of  all  his  bodily  powers.     In  the  early 


246  EXERCISE. 

days  of  American  Methodism  these  results  were  usu- 
ally secured  by  the  long  rides  and  the  daily  preaching 
necessary  in  itinerating  among  sparse  populations. 
T^ut  with  the  increase  of  population  in  our  country, 
and  the  success  of  the  Church  in  establishing  pas- 
toral stations  in  the  cities  and  villages,  there  has 
come  to  our  ministers,  as  to  others,  the  temptation 
to  physical  inactivity  which,  if  yielded  to,  is  certain 
to  effeminate  the  man,  the  Christian,  and  the  minis- 
ter|\  Nevertheless,  this  temptation,  like  others,  may 
be  resisted  and  overcome,  as  it  will  be  by  those  pas- 
tors who  have  regard  to  the  full  measure  of  their 
responsibilities.  Such  persons  will  find  it  practicable 
not  only  to  secure  a  sufficient  amount  of  healthful 
exercise  and  recreation,  but  also  to  combine  both 
with  the  discharge  of  pastoral  obligations  and  domes- 
tic duties.  Nor  in  so  doing  will  they  find  it  necessary 
to  resort  to  puerile  and  time-wasting  amusements. 
Not  being  afraid  of  the  gymnastics  of  the  ax,  the 
saw,  the  pruning-knife,  or  the  hoe,  they  will  often  be 
able  to  do  themselves  a  double  service  by  their  use. 
William  Jay,  the  celebrated  preacher  and  author, 
was  accustomed  to  boast  that  he  dug  his  Morning 
Exercises  daily  out  of  his  garden.  Dr.  Dempster, 
who  was  scarcely  less  noted  for  the  successful  battle 
he  fought  against  disease  for  a  long  series  of  years 
than  for  his  stalwart  intellect  and  metaphysical  acu- 
men, used,  when  near  seventy  years  of  age,  to  tone 
up  his  bodily  vigor  daily  by  attention  to  his  wood- 
pile in  Winter  and  his  garden  in  Summer.  Others 
have  preserved  their  vigor  by  riding,  walking,  or  row- 
ing.    But  who  ever  heard  of  such  a  result  from  a 


FEEBLENESS.  247 

clergyman's  dawdling  over  a  game  of  croquet?  If 
such  a  pretense  of  exercise  could  be  useful  to  any 
one,  it  might  possibly  suit  the  case  of  some  poor 
specimen  of  a  parson  such  as  Dr.  Pond  has  described 
in  the  following  terms: 

"A  feeble,  sickly,  run-down  minister,  however  good  may  be 
his  intentions,  must  necessarily  be  inefficient.  He  will  be  able 
to  do  but  little  for  his  people.  He  will  find  himself  fettered  and 
embarrassed  in  all  his  attempts  to  do  them  good.  And  it  will  be 
easy  for  a  minister  who  neglects  the  proper  precautions  to  render 
himself  feeble  and  sickly.  Indeed,  he  will  speedily  and  inevita- 
bly do  this.  Nature  has  prescribed  rules  respecting  diet,  exer- 
cise, exposure,  study,  which  she  will  not  allow  us  to  violate  with 
impunity,  and  he  who  carelessly,  needlessly  violates  them  becomes 
not  only  a  sufferer,  but  a  sinner.  He  throws  away  that  which 
God  has  intrusted  to  him,  a  gift  which  he  is,  so  far  as  possible, 
to  preserve  and  consecrate  wholly  to  the  service  of  the  gospel." 

A  writer  in  one  of  the  journals  of  the  day  has  set 
forth  the  physical  errors  into  which  some  ministers 
allow  themselves  to  fall  in  the  following  terms: 

"  The  clergyman  should  understand  physiology,  that  he  may 
know  how  to  take  care  of  his  health,  and  learn  to  say  no  when 
the  kind-hearted  parishioner  urges  him  to  indulge  in  cakes,  pies, 
confections,  strong  tea,  coffee,  and  other  delicacies  as  he  is  mak- 
ing his  parochial  visits.  One-half  the  illness  of  ministers,  even 
of  those  who  graduated  from  the  theological  schools  healthy,  is 
owing  to  the  labored  writing  of  sermons,  and  the  high  living 
incident  to  the  pampering  spirit  of  fond  parishioners,  and  the 
lack  of  manly  exercise,  which,  by  public  sentiment,  seems  to  be 
denied  to  them.  Some  clergymen,  unfortunately,  use  alcoholic 
liquors,  to  the  damage  of  iheir  health,  and  occasionally  to  their 
shame  and  the  scandal  of  the  Church.  Nearly  all  use  strong 
coffee  and  tea,  and  since  the  use  of  alcoholic  stimulants  has  be- 
come measurably  unpopular  thousands  of  ministers  have  adopted 
the  use  of  tobacco  in  some  form,  to  the  ruin  of  their  health,  the 
utter  prostration  of  their  nervous  systems  and  their  memory, 
and  the  demoralization  of  their  manliness.     Shut  out  by  popular 


248  REDEEM  THE    TIME, 

opinion  from  ihe  invigorating  labors  and  exercises  by  which  other 
men  keep  themselves  built  up,  many  clergymen  resort  to,  some 
stimulant  or  narcotic,  with  the  delusive  idea  that  the  temporary 
excitement  is  a  source  of  strength  and  upbuilding.  The  result 
is  dyspepsia,  nervousness,  throat  disease,  and  general  debihty. 
Ministers  sliould  at  least  be  temperate  in  all  bodily  appetites." 

Undoubtedly  the  list  of  bad  habits  in  which  some 
clergymen  indulge  might  still  be  considerably  ex- 
tended, but,  without  entering  into  further  details,  a 
general  warning  against  whatever  will  debilitate  the 
body  or  enfeeble  the  mind  mlist  here  suffice.  Enough 
has  been  said  to  show  that  every  conscientious  pastor 
should  seek  by  all  legitimate  efforts  to  maintain  the 
highest  purity  and  vigor  of  body,  as  auxiliary  to  intel- 
lectual health  and  spiritual  power.  This  position  is 
corroborated  by  facts  m.  the  history  of  the  Church 
which  show  that  the\men  who  have  accomplished 
great  results  for  the  cause  of  God  were  those  who 
have  preserved  the  meiitein  sanain  in  corpore  sanA 
while  it  is  observarble  at  the  present  time  that  the 
ministers  who  exert  a  controlling  influence  in  ecclesi- 
astical bodies  and  over  large  communities  are  men  of 
strong  nerves,  ringing  voice,  and  mascuUne  thought, 
though  not  always  of  large  physical  proportions. 

The  proper  improvement  of  time  is  fundamental 
to  success  in  whatever  relates  to  personal  cultivation  or 
public  usefulness.  When  we  reflect  upon  the  brevity 
and  uncertainty  of  human  life,  and  the  large  propor- 
tion of  its  whole  period  that  is  necessarily  absorbed  in 
sleep  and  the  supply  of  our  physical  wants,  together 
with  the  eternal  consequences  pending  upon  the  right 
employment  of  our  waking  moments,  we  may  well  be 
astonished  at  the  indifference  with  which  some  good 


AVOID  IRREGULARITY.  249 

men  let  their  time  go  to  waste.  By  them  moments 
are  uncounted,  hours  are  whiled  away,  and  even  whole 
days  suffered  to  lapse  without  results,  and  apparently 
without  compunction.  It  is  not  wonderful  that  the 
lives  of  such  persons  are  consequently  of  but  little 
value  to  themselves  or  to  the  world.  But  this  nega- 
tive result  becomes,  in  the  light  of  Scripture,  a  posi- 
tive sin,  and  persons  responsible  for  it  stand  rebuked 
by  all  those  passages  of  God's  word  which  admonish 
men  of  the  brevity  of  time  and  enjoin  the  duty  of 
redeeming  it.  The  tenor  of  Scripture  in  this  regard 
should  be  considered  emphatically  binding  upon  pas- 
tors as  ensamples  to  the  flock  and  as  stewards  of  the 
gift  of  God. ' 

One  of  the  first  requisites  for  the  redemption  of 
time  is  a  suitable  plan,  and  it  is  to  be  re- 

Plans  needed. 

gretted  that  systems  of  education  rarely 
give  sufficient  prominence  to  this  subject.  Neverthe- 
less, not  among  the  least  benefits  of  public  education 
is  long  practice  in  the  orderly  and  close  employment 
of  the  successive  portions  of  each  day.  Unhappily 
many  students,  when  once  free  from  the  routine  of 
institutional  life,  instead  of  profiting  by  the  drill  they 
have  received  in  this  respect,  relapse  into  the  great- 
est irregularity,  and  seem  to  enjoy  the  inactivity  and 
disorder  which  are  then  possible  to  them.  Such 
will  not  be  the  course  of  an  intelligent  and  consci- 
entious Christian  minister.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
will  cheerfully  impose  upon  himself  a  closer  econ- 
omy of  time  and  more  rigid  rules  for  the  redemption 
of  his  moments  than  any  institution  can  enforce. 
The  standard  of  Methodism  as  applied  to  ministers 


250 


WESLEY'S  RULES. 


has  always  been  high  in  this  regard,  and  to  this  fact 
is  owing,  in  no  small  degree,  the  efficiency  of  the 
system  and  the  personal  usefulness  of  the  great  body 
of  its  clergy.  John  Wesley  was  eminently  a  man 
of  system,  and  at  an  early  period  of  the  Wesleyan 
reformation  he  embodied  in  the  minutes  of  his  con- 
ferences rules  and  precepts  bearing  upon  the  em- 
ployment of  time  which  have  been  retained  by  his 
ministerial  successors  down  to  the  present  day  as  a 
part  of  the  discipline  to  which  they  voluntarily  pledge 
conformity.  The  following  extracts  from  the  "  Large 
Minutes,"  as  published  in  1789,  deserve  to  be  exam- 
ined in  this  connection,  both  for  their  historical  sig- 
nificance and  their  intrinsic  value: 

"  Ques.  I.  How  may  we  best  improve  the  time  of  this  Con- 
ference ? 

'•'-Ans.  (i.)  While  we  are  conversing  let  us  have  an  especial 
care  to  set  God  always  before  us. 

"(2.)  In  the  intermediate  hours  let  us  redeem  all  the  time  we 
can  for  private  exercises." 

"  Ques.  26.  What  are  the  rules  of  a  helper  ? 

'-^Ans.  (i.)  Be  diligent  Never  be  unemployed  a  moment; 
never  be  triflingly  employed ;  never  while  away  time,  neither 
spend  any  more  time  at  any  place  than  is  strictly  necessary. 

"(10.)  Be  punctual.     Do  every  thing  exactly  at  the  time." 

"  Ques.  29.  What  general  method  of  employing  our  time  would 
you  advise  us  to  ? 

''Ans.  We  advise  you,  (i.)  As  often  as  possible  to  rise  at  four. 
(2.)  From  four  to  five  in  the  morning,  and  from  five  to  six  in  the 
evening,  to  meditate,  pray,  and  read,  partly  the  Scripture  with 
the  notes,  partly  the  closely  practical  parts  of  what  we  have  pub- 
lished. (3.)  From  six  in  the  morning  till  twelve— allowing  an 
hour  for  breakfast — to  read  in  order,  with  much  prayer,  first, 
'The  Christian  Library'  and  the  other  books  which  we  have 
published  in  prose  and  verse,  and  then  those  which  we  recom- 
mended in  our  rules  of  Kingswood  school." 


BAXTER   QUOTED.  25 1 

As  though  these  rules  were  not  sufficient,  the  sub- 
ject of  redeeming  time  is  again  referred  to  under  the 
topic  of  personal  religious  instruction : 

"In  the  afternoon  follow  Mr.  Baxter's  plan.  Then  you  will 
have  no  time  to  spare.  You  will  have  work  enough  for  all 
your  time."  "The  sum  is,  Go  Into  every  house  in  course,  and 
teach  every  one  therein,  young  and  old,  if  they  belong  to  us, 
to  be-  Christians  inwardly  and  outwardly."  "We  must  needs 
do  this,  were  it  only  to  avoid  idleness.  Do  we  not  loiter  away 
many  hours  in  every  week?  Each  try  himself.  No  idleness 
can  consist  with  growth  in  grace.  Nay,  without  exactness  in 
redeeming  time  you  can  not  retain  the  grace  you  received  in 
justification." 

Better  general  advices  could  hardly  be  given,  and 
yet  it  is  well  for  individuals  to  have  detailed  plans, 
allotting  portions  of  time  to  specific  duties  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  peculiar  circumstances.  Other- 
wise they  will  be  in  danger  of  daily  losing  many 
precious  moments. 

Any  wise  plan  for  the  distribution  of  a  minister's 
time  will  provide  for  the  several  great  necessities  of 
his  nature — physical,  mental,  spiritual.  While  cir- 
cumstances will  occasionally  require  modifications  of 
the  best  plan,  yet  there  are  certain  leading  features 
of  pastoral  life  and  duty  which  will  harmonize  i.n  the 
experience  of  all  men  at  all  times.  Hence  a  speci- 
men plan,  taken  from  actual  practice,  may  be  useful, 
at  least  suggestive  to  many.  In  the  matter  of  early 
rising,  it  will  be  seen  to  fall  below  the  standard  of 
Wesley.  Nevertheless  it  is  capable  of  easy  adapta- 
tion to  those  who  will  adopt  and  maintain  Wesley's 
habit  of  rising  and  commencing  the  duties  of  each  day 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 


A  PASTOR'S  PLAN, 

PLAN  FOR  THE  DISTRIBUTION   OF  A  PASTOR'S  TIME. 

I.  Allotment  of  Hours. 

A.  Study,       ....      Six  hours. 

B.  Pastoral  and  public  duties,     Six  hours. 

C.  Domestic  and  private  duties.  Five  hours. 

D.  Sleep,  .        .         .         .     Seven  hours.= Twenty-four. 

II.  Order  of  the  Day. 

5  A.  M.    Rising  and  private  devotion. 


6 

7 
8 
I  P. 

2 

3 
6 

7 
8 

9- 30 
10 


'  Exercise. 

'  Breakfast  and  family  worship. 

'  Study  and  writing. 

M.  Dinner  and  private  devotion. 

'  Reading  and  correspondence. 

'  Pastoral  visiting. 

'  Supper  and  family  worship. 

'  Church  business,  calls,  and  company. 

'  Meetings.  ,^ 


Review  of  the  day  and  private  worship. 
Sleep. 

III.  Order  of  the  Week. 

A.  M.  Monday,  Official  registry,  correspondence,  etc. 

Tuesday,  Wednesday,  and  Thursday,  Special  prep- 
aration for  the  pulpit. 
Friday  and  Saturday,  Systematic  Study,  Theolog- 
ical and  Scientific. 
P.  M.    Monday  and  Saturday,  Miscellaneous  duties. 

Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  Pas- 
toral visits. 

In  most  communities  Mondays  and  Saturdays  are 
not  favorable  days  for  pastoral  visits  ;  hence  the  above 
plan  allots  the  afternoons  of  those  days,  together  with 
Monday  mornings,  to  the  various  official  and  miscel- 
laneous duties  that  arise  in  the  course  of  a  week,  but 
which  may  usually  be  assigned  to  those  days  without 
detriment  to  the  interests  of  the  Church,  and  often- 
times to  the  advantage  of  others  as  well  as  of  the 


REMARKS.  253 

pastor.  "  To  every  thing  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time 
to  every  purpose" — Eccl.  iii,  i — is  a  text  which  de- 
serves to  be  inculcated  upon  all  Church  members 
and  communities. 

While  it  is  conceded  that  the  spirit  of  a  plan  like 
the  above  is  more  important  than  its  minute  details, 
yet  it  is   well  for  the  young  minister  to  adhere  as 
closely  as  possible  to  the  plan  he  may  adopt,  lest  he 
should   insensibly  fall   more   under   the  influence   of 
exceptions  than  of  the  rules  themselves.     But  it  is 
objected  that  great  practical  difficulties  will  be  en- 
countered in  adhering  rigidly  to  a  system  like  the 
above  —  specially  that  people  will   be   offended  if  a 
pastor   is   not    at    all  times  accessible  to  them,  and 
subject  to  the  convenience  of  any  one  as  to  the  time 
and  length  of  the  calls  he  must  receive.     It  may  be 
admitted   that  many   congregations  have  been  badly 
educated    in   this   matter    through    the   weakness    or 
inconsiderateness  of  former  pastors,  but  it  is  not  to 
be  believed  that  any  Christian  community  will  object 
to  thoroughly  studious  and  systematic  habits  on  the 
part  of  its  minister,  or  indeed  will  fail  to  approve  of 
his  greatest  strictness  in  redeeming  time  when  once 
enabled  to  understand  that  his  object  is  to  do  them 
the  greater  good  as  a  result.     Nothing,  therefore,  can 
be  more  proper  than  for  a  pastor  to  make    congregational 
known  to  his  congregation,  on  some  fit  oc-    <^°-°P^'-^t'°"- 
casion,  and  in  a  modest  way,  that  in  obedience  to  the 
rules  of  the  Church,  and  his  own  convictions  of  duty, 
he  wishes  to  have  his  mornings  free  from  interruption, 
that  they  may  be  exclusively  devoted  to  study  and 
preparation  for  the  pulpit,  and  also  that  he  may  secure 


254  ADVANTAGES  OF  SYSTEM. 

time  for  public  and  pastoral  engagements  during  the 
later  hours  of  the  day.  In  such  a  connection,  it  would 
be  well  to  appoint  the  time  at  which  he  can  most  con- 
veniently receive  calls,  not  failing  to  state  that  for  any 
emergency,  such  as  extreme  illness,  death,  or  funerals, 
he  will  hold  himself  always  in  readiness.  Timely  and 
judicious  explanations  of  his  plans  and  wishes,  in  ref- 
erence to  matters  of  mutual  interest,  will  seldom  if 
ever  fail  to  secure  for  a  pastor  a  cordial  approval,  and 
even  the  higher  respect  of  his  congregation,  since  its 
various  members  will  not  be  slow  to  perceive  that 
their  own  intellectual  and  spiritual  progress  is  closely 
identified  with  that  of  him  who  ministers  to  them  in 
sacred  things. 

Some  of  the  advantages  of  a  systematic  distribution 
of  time  are  obvious  ;  such  as,  i.  The  saving  of  many 
valuable  moments,  which,  without  it,  would  be  lost  in 
hesitation,  between  leaving  off  one  engagement  and 
entering  upon  another.  2.  Deliberation  in  advance 
will  always  secure  a  wiser  and  more  comprehensive 
plan  than  is  possible  to  one  who  allows  himself  to  be 
governed  by  impulses,  whether  from  within  or  with- 
out. 3.  Study  systematically  pursued,  even  though 
but  a  brief  time  each  day,  is  of  far  greater  value  than 
when  fitfully  and  irregularly  performed. 

In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  consider  what  a 
Christian  pastor  owes  himself  in  reference  to  mental 
cultivation.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  in  his  prelim- 
inary studies  he  has  secured  such  an  introductory  and 
general  knowledge  of  books  as  was  recommended  in 
the  chapter  on  qualifications,  it  becomes  him  in  later 
life  to  make  more  substantial  acquisitions  of  knowl- 


INTELLECTUAL  IMPROVEMENT.  2$ 5 

edge,  and  to  attain  a  broader  culture  than  was  possi- 
ble to  him  as  a  mere  student.  If  to  mental  maturity 
and  enlarged  opportunities  of  observation  a  pastor  add 
habitual  diligence  in  systematic  study  and  thought- 
fulness,  he  can  hardly  fail  to  gain  more  perfect  con- 
ceptions of  truth,  if  not  a  more  rapid  mental  growth 
when  in  actual  service  than  during  former  periods  of 
his  life.  Having  previously  learned  how  to  study,  and 
having  now  the  highest  possible  motives  to  gain  en- 
larged knowledge  and  increased  mental  power,  even 
limited  portions  of  time  may  enable  him  to  accomplish 
invaluable  results  in  his  own  behalf,  both  as  a  man 
and  a  minister  of  the  gospel  ;  while  to  omit  efforts 
for  these  objects,  and  to  settle  down  into  an  easy, 
self-satisfied  dormancy,  will  be  to  forfeit  some  of  the 
highest  pleasures  of  human  existence,  and  to  invoke 
premature  mental  decay,  as  well  as  a  corresponding 
but  certain  loss  of  power  and  influence.  That  this 
sinister  alternative  is  not  only  possible,  but  in  many 
cases  actual,  is  clearly  and  dispassionately  shown  in 
the  following  article,  which  appeared  son^e  years  ago 
in  a  religious  periodical,*  but  which  is  too  faithful  a 
portraiture  of  clerical  dangers  to  be  suflered  to  pass 
into  oblivion : 

"DECLINE  OF  ENTHUSIASM  IN  THE  SACRED  OFFICE. 

"  We  have  traveled  North  and  South,  East  and  West,  and 
have  known  hundreds  of  ministers,  and  what  do  we  find  the 
state  of  the  profession  in  this  country  ?  There  are  many  excel- 
lent and  laborious,  and  some  distinguished  men.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  find  many  who  show  no  great  enthusiasm  in 
their  work  ;  who  only  pursue  their  round  of  duties,  as  the  law- 
yer takes  care  of  his  clients,  and  the  doctor  of  his  patients. 

*  The  New  York  Evangelist. 


256  PASTORAL  ENTHUSIASM, 

"  This  lack  of  enthusiasm  has  surprised  us,  as  it  marks  a  great 
change  in  these  very  minds.  A  theological  seminary  is  com- 
monly a  focus  of  intellectual  life.  A  body  of  young  men,  engaged 
in  the  same  studies,  and  debating  questions  with  ardor,  seem  to 
be  giving  and  receiving  an  impulse  which  can  never  be  lost. 
There  is  an  animation  from  the  contact  of  so  many  young  minds. 
It  would  appear  that,  thus  instructed  and  vitalized,  they  must  go 
on  to  perfection.  But  see  these  men  ten  years  later,  and,  to  the 
surprise  of  all,  half  of  them  have  made  no  progress.  They  have 
settled  down  in  some  quiet  valley.  Their  minds  have  been 
standing  still.  They  preach  no  better  than  when  they  left  the 
seminary — probably  not  so  well,  for  in  their  first  efforts  there 
was  a  youthful  fervor  which  time  wears  away.  This  decay  of. 
intellectual  life  is  the  bane  of  ministers.  Next  to  the  decline 
of  piety  itself,  that  which  they  have  most  to  dread  is  the  slug- 
gishness which,  after  a  few  years,  creeps  over  their  minds. 

"It  is  easy  to  trace  the  progress  of  this  mental  declension. 
The  minister  goes  forth  to  his  work  like  a  young  giant  rejoicing 
to  run  his  race.  His  mind  is  excited  by  his  recent  studies,  and 
he  falls  to  writing  sermons  like  one  inspired.  But  this  ardor  is 
cooled,  not  by  violent  opposition,  but  by  the  general  indifference 
around  him.  He  then  feels  the  want  of  those  professors  who 
have  supplied  his  mind  with  subjects  for  thought,  or  of  fellow- 
students  to  debate  with.  But,  alas  !  he  may  not  find  one  kin- 
dred spirit  with  whom  to  counsel  or  contend.  He  has  nobody 
even  to  contradict  him. 

"  Here  is  the  chief  danger  of  a  country  minister.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  all  those  influences  from  without,  which  can  excite  his 
mind,  the  general  stagnation  of  life,  in  a  few  years,  brings  a  fatal 
lethargy  over  his  intellect.  In  the  little  domain  of  his  parish 
he  finds  nothing  to  arouse  him  to  great  efforts.  He  may  have 
in  his  congregation  men  of  more  talent  than  himself.  But  their 
pursuits  lie  in  a  different  direction.  They  take  little  interest  in 
those  high  theological  questions  which  trouble  him  ;  while  the 
mass  of  his  audience,  being  plain  people,  care  little  for  profound 
reasoning  or  polished  eloquence.  The  result  is  that  he  loses 
his  ambition.  After  struggling  for  a  while  against  this  leaden 
atmosphere,  he  sinks  down  under  it,  and  vegetates  as  quietly  as 
the  elm  that  overshadows  his  dwelling. 

"  The  effect  soon  appears  in  the  performances  of  the  Sabbath. 
The  young  preacher  discovers  a  dangerous  secret — that  he  can 


PASTORAL  DECAY.  25/ 

make  poor  sermons  pass  about  as  well  as  good  ones.  He  finds 
that  an  extemporaneous  effusion,  written  Saturday  evening,  but 
delivered  with  a  swelling  voice,  is  as  well  received  as  his  most 
elaborate  discourses.  He  infers  that  great  labor  of  preparation 
is  thrown  away.  Any  thing  will  do  for  his  simple  flock.  This 
is  a  strong  temptation  to  idleness.  He  forms  the  habit  of  post- 
poning preparation  for  the  pulpit  to  the  end  of  the  week,  and 
then  dashes  off  a  homily  without  any  strong  mental  labor. 

"  This  is  the  ruin  of  hundreds  of  fine  minds.  They  perish  by 
neglect.  They  lapse  into  a  loose  way  of  reasoning,  and  a  slat- 
ternly style  of  composition.  When  young  men  begin  to  consult 
their  ease,  they  are  lost.  They  will  never  make  any  thing  in  the 
world.  Their  minds  will  stop  growing.  Their  preaching  will 
be  a  repetition  of  flat  commonplaces,  and  end  in  empty  rant. 

"  Nor  does  the  mischief  end  here.  A  people  may  not  prove 
so  simple  as  the  new  pastor  thought  them.  For  they  will  dis- 
cover after  a  time  that  he  is  not  the  great  man  they  took  him  for, 
and  they  will  begin  to  look  for  another.  It  is  a  fact  which  all 
observe,  that  ministers  settled  in  cities  are  far  more  seldom  dis- 
missed than  those  in  the  country.  One  reason  is,  that  a  larger 
experience  of  the  world  supplies  their  minds  with  fresh  food  for 
thought.  They  are  kept  awake  and  living  by  the  ocean  of  life 
around  them.  But  how  to  sustain  this  activity  when  the  out- 
ward stimulus  is  wanting — that  is  the  difficulty.  How  shall  a 
minister,  leading  a  retired  and  solitary  life  in  the  country,  keep 
up  a  constant  freshness  of  thought?  To  this  there  is  but  one 
answer.  If  a  scholar  or  a  preacher  can  not  find  excitement  out-of- 
doors,  he  must  find  it  within — in  himself  and  in  books.  Let  him 
enter  his  study,  and  lock  the  door,  and  then  he  can  select  a  society 
to  his  taste.  There  are  his  University  and  his  professors  —  his 
wise  and  eloquent  men.  Let  him  converse  with  these  great 
intellects  every  day,  and  he  will  not  be  an  ordinary  man." 

Thus  the  writer  comes  round  to  the  very  thought 
in  connection  with  which  his  statements  were  intro- 
duced— Study,  hard  and  systematic  study,  as  an  essen- 
tial and  never-ceasing  duty  which  a  pastor  owes  to 
himself  as  well  as  to  his  flock.  But  it  is  more  pleas- 
ant to  relieve  the  stern  aspect  of  duty  by  presenting 
the    same    consideration    in    the    light    of   privilege. 


258  THE   PRIVILEGE   OF  STUDY. 

Whoever  has  tasted  the  sweets  of  learning  is  entitled 
to  consider  himself  invited  ever  onward  and  upward 
to  higher  banquetings  in  the  temple  of  knowledge  ; 
and  though  his  duties  extraneous  to  direct  study  are 
numerous  and  responsible,  still  they  will  all  be  more 
easily  discharged  in  proportion  to  increasing  progress 
in  study.  Let,  then,  the  idea  of  a  systematic  division 
of  time  be  wedded  to  that  of  study,  so  that  no  other 
duties  will  be  neglected,  and  let  both  ideas  be  illus- 
trated by  a  determination  as  sacred  as  his  religious 
convictions,  and  so  far  from  retrogression,  mental 
progress  will  become  the  law  of  the  pastor's  life. 

The  crowning  advantage  of  ministerial  over  merely 
scholastic  study  is  that,  in  the  latter,  one  has  imme- 
diate opportunity  for  the  use  of  whatever  mental  ac- 
quisitions he  secures,  whether  from  books  or  by  the 
elaboration  of  thought.  As  to  the  method  of  a  pas- 
tor's study  it  will  usually  be  by  topics.  Although 
sometimes  he  will  have  reasons  for  reading  a  book 
through  in  course,  more  frequently  he  will  have  oc- 
casion to  consult  a  variety  of  books  in  ref- 

Topical  study.  .  .  .       - 

erence  to  a  smgle  topic.  Topical  study 
is  at  once  the  most  pleasant  and  the  most  practicable 
for  a  pastor  ;  pleasant,  because  it  takes  him  out  of  the 
ruts  of  any  one  man's  system  of  teaching  or  mode  of 
thinking,  and  secures  for  his  mind  an  agreeable  variety 
of  subjects  and  ideas  ;  practicable,  because  with  exist- 
ing helps  it  is  easy  to  avail  one's  self  of  the  labors  of 
the  best  minds,  to  serve  either  as  the  initiation  or  the 
auxiliaries  of  thought.  Topical  study  favors  the  habit 
of  mental  concentration,  without  which  nothing  deep 
is  ever  reached.     "  One  subject  at  a  time,  and  that 


INVESTIGATION  OF  TOPICS.  259 

thoroughly  investigated,"  is  the  proper  motto  for  ad- 
vanced students.  In  the  search  for  truth  investiga- 
tion should,  whenever  it  is  possible,  be  pursued  until 
a  conclusion  is  clearly  reached  and  the  mind  satisfied. 
The  mind  should  never  allow  itself  to  halt  long  be- 
tween two  opinions,  nor  to  rest  in  half-formed  con- 
clusions. Thus  a  habit  of  thoroughness  may  be 
established. 

The  proper  preparation  of  sermons  leads  to  topical 
study  of  the  most  valuable  and  interesting  kind  ;  but 
in  order  to  realize  the  highest  advantage  to  the  ser- 
mon, or  from  the  study,  unity  of  theme  and  unity  of 
treatment  are  strictly  essential.  While  the  pastor  is 
by  no  means  denied  the  privilege  of  theoretic  study, 
either  in  science,  philosophy,  or  morals,  he  should  ac- 
quire the  habit  of  making  his  studies,  in  every  depart- 
ment, converge  to  practical  ends.  Especially  should 
he  cultivate  the  power  of  commanding  at  will  what- 
ever knowledge  he  possesses  to  illustrate  the  topic 
in  hand,  whatever  it  may  be.  Thus  he  may  make 
nature  corroborate  revelation,  and  all  knowledge  sub- 
sidiary to  religious  ends. 

When  the  mind  has  attained  the  power  of  produc- 
tiveness, it  becomes  its  own  teacher,  and  Mental  pro- 
effectually  instructs  itself  while  preparing  ductiveness. 
instruction  for  others.  In  the  pastoral  duty  of  feed- 
ing the  flock,  no  material  affords  such  freshness  and 
relish  as  that  in  which  the  mind  of  the  teacher  is  inter- 
ested as  its  own  pabulum.  Let  him,  therefore,  who 
would  lead  his  flock  into  green  pastures,  not  content 
himself  with  offering  them  the  husks  of  other  men's 
gathering,  or  of  his  own  past  preparations,  but  rather 


260  THINKING. 

aim  to  keep  his  mind  continually  productive,  and  ha- 
bituated, at  least,  to  making  new  combinations  of 
thought. 

It  is,  moreover,  exceedingly  desirable  to  acquire 
the  capacity  of  pursuing  trains  of  thought  when 
away  from  books  and  the  appliances  of  study.  Not 
only  may  much  time  be  saved  by  the  exercise  of  this 
power,  but  thought  will  often  derive  greater  freshness 
from  a  change  of  scene,  and  invention  become  stim- 
ulated to  higher  flights  and  broader  excursions,  when 
its  possessor  moves  out  into  the  open  air,  instead  of 
sitting,  jaded  with  confinement  to  his  study.  Thus 
may  duty  and  pleasure,  labor  and  health,  be  made  to 
combine  for  the  great  ends  of  the  ministry. 

In  all  precepts  with  reference  to  ministerial  study 
the  holy  Scriptures,  especially  in  the  original,  and 
with  the  best  critical  helps,  should  be  placed  in  the 
foreground.  Following  these,  standard  authors,  first 
in  theology,  and  then  in  the  several  great  depart- 
ments of  literature  and  science,  should  receive  perse- 
vering attention.  In  following  out  these  brief  but 
comprehensive  precepts  inferior  authorship  of  every 
kind  must  be -rejected,  and  time  only  occupied  with 
that  which  is  in  a  high  degree  profitable.  Nor  need 
any  fear  be  entertained  of  hard  study  when  its  hours 
are  properly  limited  and  alternated.  Indeed,  hard 
study — intense,  absorbing  application  —  is  the  only 
kind  worthy  of  the  name  of  study.  F.  W.  Robertson 
illustrated  this  principle,  both  in  manner  and  result. 
He  said  of  himself: 

"  I  read  hard  or  not  at  all — never  skimming,  never  turn- 
ing aside  to  many  inviting  books — and  Plato,  Aristotle,  Butler, 


HARD  STUDY  NOT  DANGEROUS.  26 1 

Thucydides,  and  Jonathan  Edwards  have  passed,  like  the  iron 
atoms  of  the  blood,  into  my  mental  constitution."  He  cultivated 
"the  steady  habit  of  looking  forward  to  a  distant  end,  and  unal- 
terably working  on  until  he  had  attained— the  habit  of  never 
beginning  any  thing  which  is  not  to  be  finished." 


The  idea  that  life  is  shortened  by  hard  study  is 
now  pretty  thoroughly  exploded.  \  A  popular  writer 
on  health  *  pertinently  says : 

"  Thought  is  the  life  of  the  brain  as  exercise  is  the  life  of  the 
body.  There  can  be  no  more  such  a  thing  as  a  healthy  brain, 
as  to  the  mental  department,  without  thought  or  study,  than 
there  can  be  a  healthful  body  without  exercise.  And,  as  phys- 
ical exercise  preserves  the  body  in  health,  so  thought,  which  is 
the  exercise  of  the  brain,  keeps  it  well.  But  here  the  parallel 
ends.  We  may  exercise,  work  too  much,  but  we  can  not  think 
too  much  in  the  way  of  expressing  ourselves,  for  both  writing 
and  talking  are  a  relief  to  the  mind  ;  they  are,  in  a  sense,  its 
play,  its  diversion.  Pent-up  thoughts  may  kill  as  pent-up  steam 
wrecks  the  locomotive.  The  expression  of  thought  is  like  work- 
ing off  the  steam  from  the  boiler.  When  clergymen  break  down, 
or  public  men  or  professors  in  colleges  or  other  literary  institu- 
tions get  sick  and  die,  the  universal  cry  is  '  study,'  '  too  much 
responsibihty,'  'too  much  mental  application.'  It  is  never  so — 
not  in  a  single  case  since  the  world  began.  We  defy  proof,  and 
will  open  our  pages  to  any  authenticated  case.  If  a  man  will 
give  himself  sleep  enough,  and  will  eat  enough  nutritious  food 
at  proper  intervals,  and  will  spend  two  or  three  hours  in  the 
open  air  every  day,  he  may  study,  and  work,  and  write  until  he 
is  gray,  and  still  be  young  in  mental  vigor  and  clearness." 

Books  being  essential  helps   to  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge,  a  library  for  his  personal  use    a  pastor's 
and  convenience  is  indispensable  to  a  pas-    ^'^''^• 
tor.     Nevertheless,  as  a  pastor  is  subject  to  frequent 
changes  of  residence,  and  also  limited  in  his  resources, 
his  library  must  be  adapted  to  his  circumstances,  and 

*Hall. 


262  THE  SELECTION  OF  BOOKS. 

therefore  choice  rather  than  large.  But  as  the  tastes 
and  circumstances  of  pastors  will  differ,  and  as  some 
kinds  of  investigation  will  be  forced  upon  some  men 
and  not  upon  others,  it  is  obvious  that  no  list  of 
books  can  be  prescribed  that  will  be  equally  suitable 
for  every  pastor's  library.  Every  pastor,  therefore, 
should  aim  to  comprehend  for  himself  the  principles 
that  ought  to  govern  him  in  the  selection  of  his 
library.  As  a  literary  and  professional  man  he  will 
necessarily  be  a  book-buyer  all  his  life.  Intellectual, 
like  material  food,  is  required  day  by  day  as  life 
advances.  Hence  he  may  be  content  to  provide  for 
his  literary  necessities  as  they  arise,  and  not  feel 
pressed  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  to  purchase 
such  a  library  as  he  may  need  and  may  hope  to  have 
in  subsequent  years.  At  the  outset,  however,  he 
would  do  well  to  determine  that  none  but  the  best 
books  shall  command  either  his  money  or  his  time. 
Hence  he  should  know  what  to  reject,  as  well  as 
what  to  buy.  For  both  purposes  some  acquaintance 
with  commercial  bibliography  will  be  useful  as  ena- 
bUng  him  to  know  the  character  of  pubHshers,  what 
are  the  best  editions  of  books,  and  when  specially 
favorable  terms  are  offered.  This,  superadded  to  such 
a  knowledge  of  books  and  authors  as  a  good  edu- 
cation will  initiate,  and  proper  attention  to  current 
reviews  will  continue  and  extend,  will  be  a  suitable 
preparation  for  the  task  now  under  consideration. 

In  book-buying,  as  in  most  matters,  there  are  oppo- 
site extremes  to  be  avoided,  pn  the  one  hand,  books 
being  attractive,  and  possessing  certain  intrinsic  val- 
ues, the  young  minister  is  inclined  to  buy  too  many.; 


BOOK-BUYING.  263 

At  this  point,  therefore,  let  him  resolve  strongly  not 
to  buy  books  merely  on  account  of  their  artistic 
beauty,  their  popular  character,  their  great  rarity,  nor 
even  their  cheapness,  although  either  of  these  quali- 
ties might  add  to  the  motives  for  purchasing  books 
actually  wanted. 

There  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  possibility  of  being 
too  cautious  and  pennywise  in  the  purchase  of  books, 
and  of  so  far  withholding  more  than  is  meet  from  the 
book-seller  as  to  tend  to  mental  poverty.  In*  these 
days  of  cheap  publishing,  when  a  few  dollars  will 
enable  any  one  to  procure  the  literary  products  of  a 
strong  man's  life-time,  there  is  no  wisdom  in  declining 
to  buy  books  which  afford  any  just  promise  of  in- 
tellectual or  spiritual  advantage..  A  clergyman  had 
better  deny  himself  expenses  in  the  line  of  furniture, 
clothing,"^  or  even  food  for  his  body,  than  to  put  his 
mind  on  a  starving  allowance.\^  If  there  is  a  possibil- 
ity of  mistake  in  regard  to  the  provision  of  furniture 
for  his  mind,  it  is  better  to  err  on  the  side  of  liberal- 
ity than  of  parsimony,  more  especially  since  mistakes 
of  the  former  kind  are  not  difficult  of  remedy  by  the 
sale  of  any  book  that,  on  examination,  one  does  not 
wish  to  retain. 

It  may,  therefore,  be  affirmed  that  a  Christian  pastor 
ought  not  to  be  without  a  library  which  shall,  at  the 
beginning,  fairly  represent  the  following  classification, 
viz. :  Special  helps  in  ministerial  work,  general  helps 
to  knowledge,  helps  to  thought  and  mental  growth. 

A.   Special  helps  in  ministerial  ivork. 

This  class  will  include  the  holy  Scriptures  in  all 
the  languages  with  which  the  individual  is  acquainted, 


264      REQUISITES  OF  A   MINISTER'S  LIBRARY. 

and  a  suitable  apparatus  of  biblical  study,  such  as 
grammars,  lexicons,  biblical  dictionaries,  and  one  or 
more  good  commentaries.  To  these  may  be  added 
standard  works  on  the  leading  topics  of  theology, 
including  a  few  volumes  of  choice  sermons  and  min- 
isterial biography. 

B.  Helps  to  general  knowledge. 

Under  this  head  may  be  grouped  books  of  refer- 
ence, encyclopedias,  choice  specimens  of  literature, 
and  standard  histories,  not  omitting  scientific  works 
of  a  high  character. 

C.  Helps  to  thoiigJit  and  mental  growth. 

In  this  department  the  old  and  the  new  should  be 
fitly  blended.  If  one  can  not  afford  to  omit  the  old 
standards,  such  as  Plato,  Butler,  and  Milton,  neither 
can  he  wisely  dispense  with  the  best  thinkers  of  his 
own  day.  Very  narrow  and  one-sided  are  the  views 
of  those  advisers  who,  like  Shedd,  would  confine  min- 
isters almost  exclusively  to  the  old  standards,  and  in 
their  extreme  partisanship  of  a  few  books  that  have 
stood  the  test  of  time  would  make  it  a  quasi-heresy 
to  read  any  others.  While  there  would  be  danger  in 
attempting  to  read  all  the  issues  of  the  modern  press, 
it  would  be  an  equal  folly  to  close  one's  eyes  blindly 
upon  the  agencies  by  which  the  present  generation  is 
affected  for  better  and  for  worse.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  pastor  who  holds  himself  aloof  from  mental  con- 
tact with  the  representative  minds  of  his  own  age  can 
not  expect  to  sustain  a  favorable  comparison  with 
them,  or  to  make  himself  felt  on  the  questions  which 
most  agitate  the  people  among  whom  he  lives,  moves, 
and  has  his  being.     "These  ought  ye  to  have  done, 


A   LIBRARY  IN  OUTLINE.  26$ 

and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone,"  would  be  a  motto 
applicable  to  this  subject.  In  harmony  with  it,  the 
enlightened  pastor  will  seek  to  profit  by  the  best  aids 
to  thought  which  both  ancient  and  modern  times 
afford,  and  in  doing  so  he  will  give  some  attention  to 
the  best  class  of  reviews,  both  home  and  foreign. 

D.  Miscella7iy, 

For  convenience,  let  there  be  this  fourth  depart- 
ment in  the  pastor's  library,  in  which  he  may  place 
good  books  not  strictly  belonging  to  the  other  classes. 

Now,  whoever  has  these  several  departments  of  lit- 
erature judiciously  represented,  even  by  a  small  num- 
ber of  books,  has  a  good  library,  but  a  library  which, 
like  an  army  composed  of  skeleton  regiments,  will 
require  filling  up  and  enlargement  from  time  to  time, 
but  which,  increased  on  the  same  principles,  will 
always  be  growing  better. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  pastors  of  the  present 
day  have  two  classes  of  advantages  in  reference  to 
procuring  libraries  which  were  not  possessed  by  their 
predecessors  of  former  times.  One  grows  out  of  the 
art  of  stereotyping,  by  means  of  which  all  the  more 
valuable  books  are  sure  to  be  kept  in  market,  and  not 
liable,  as  formerly,  to  get  "out  of  print."  Knowing 
this,  a  young  minister  can  arrange  to  buy  books  when 
he  needs  them,  and  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  in- 
curring expense  before  his  actual  wants  occur.  The 
other  is  an  advantage  of  the  mail  service,  by  which  a 
person  in  any  part  of  the  country  can  promptly  secure 
any  book  by  inclosing  to  the  publisher,  in  a  postal 
order  or  otherwise,  the  retail  price.  Hence  no  one 
need  await  a  visit  to  the  metropolis  or  any  focal  point 

23 


266  CHURCH  LIBRARIES, 

of  trade  before  securing  a  book  that  he  wants,  but 
may  order  at  pleasure,  in  the  moral  certainty  of  being 
supplied  as  well  as  if  being  present  at  the  publisher's 
counter  to  select. 

These  allusions  to  a  pastor's  library  should'  not  be 
closed  without  an  important  suggestion  as  to  the  duty 
of  Churches.  Since  few  pastors  are  able  to  purchase 
as  many  books  as  they  ought  to  have  subject  to  their 
consultation,  Church  libraries  ought  to  be  established 
wherever  practicable,  in  which,  for  the  joint  benefit 
of  successive  pastors  and  the  Sunday-school  teachers 
of  the  Church,  an  ample  and  increasing  collection  of 
valuable  religious  books  may  be  accumulated.  As 
further  reference  will  be  made  to  this  subject  in  sub- 
sequent chapters,  it  is  only  necessary  to* add  here 
that  pastors  may,  in  justice  alike  to  themselves  and 
their  successors,  devise  plans  and  institute  measures 
for  establishing  Church  libraries,  and  also  for  increas- 
ing and  perpetuating  such  libraries  wherever  found  in 
existence.  Neither  in  a  Church  library  nor  a  pastor's 
library  should  any  place  be  reserved  for  ephemeral 
publications.  The  world  is  too  full  of  such  publica- 
tions, and  both  ministers  and  Christian  people  gener- 
ally need  to  be  on  their  guard  against  wasting  time 
on  not  merely  fictitious  literature,  but  also  on  that 
perpetual  rehash  of  material  which  forms  the  chief 
staple  of  many  magazines  and  other  periodicals. 

There  is,  however,  one  species  of  ephemeral  publi- 
cation, from  which  a  clergyman  can  not  wisely  with- 
hold a  proper  share  of  attention.  The  present  is  an 
age  of  newspapers,  and  a  public  teacher  who  does  not 
read  the  newspapers  is  in  danger  of  being  ignorant 


NEWSPAPERS,  267 

of  many  things  which  he  ought  not  only  to  under- 
stand, but  to  use  for  moral  and  religious  ends.  The 
newspaper  press  of  America,  spiced  and  stimulated  as 
it  is  by  constant  telegraphic  communication  with  all 
parts  of  the  world,  is  an  ever-acting  and  powerful 
educator  of  society.  Unfortunately,  however,  its  in- 
fluences are  not  always  good.  No  minister  can  un- 
dertake to  read  all  that  any  newspaper  will  say,  much 
less  to  correct  all  the  errors  which  may  be  inculcated, 
intentionally  or  otherwise,  by  the  newspaper  press. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  occasions  in  which  it  be- 
comes the  pulpit  to  speak  out  decidedly  on  the  great 
questions  of  the  day,  and  still  more  frequent  occa- 
sions in  which  the  most  pertinent  and  forcible  illus- 
trations of  sacred  truth  may  be  drawn  from  current 
events  familiar  to  the  public  mind.  Besides,  both 
secular  and  religious  papers  record  numerous  facts 
illustrative  of  God's  providences,  and  the  conse- 
quences of  human  conduct,  which  form  material  for 
religious  instruction  all  the  more  valuable  for  their 
recency  and  freshness. 

While  the  value  of  historical  knowledge  in  reference 
to  the  past  is  universally  conceded,  the  importance  of 
a  knowledge  of  current  history  can  not  be  questioned. 
Indeed,  the  relations  of  the  past  to  the  present,  and 
the  present  to  the  past,  form  a  topic  of  ever-increasing 
interest  to  thoughtful  minds,  and  they  certainly  can 
not  be  comprehended  by  one  who  ignores  the  news- 
paper. But  let  no  pastor  waste  time  upon  newspapers, 
on  whatever  pretense.  By  lax  habits,  in  reference  to 
ephemeral  reading,  it  is  possible,  and  with  some  com- 
mon, to  throw  away  many  precious  hours  in  reading 


268  USE  OF  EXTRACTS. 

details  of  news,  correspondence,  and  extracts,  which 
ought  to  be  passed  over  with  the  merest  glance. 
Two  things  are  necessary  to  profitable  newspaper 
Habits  of  read-  reading — discrimination  and  rapidity.  The 
*°^-  first  will  sternly  refuse  to  occupy  time  with 

what  has  not  an  adequate  measure  of  importance  for 
present  reading ;  and  the  second  will  dispatch  even 
that  with  the  greatest  haste  compatible  with  "a  just 
comprehension  of  the  facts  or  principles  involved. 

One  reason  why  newspapers  are  allowed  to  beguile 
a  disproportionate  share  of  time  is  found  in  the  idea, 
that  unless  they  are  read  at  once  they  will  disappear 
and  be  lost.  There  is  a  remedy  for  this  error,  not 
found,  as  some  have  supposed,  in  a  laboriously  pre- 
pared and  voluminous  scrap-book,  but  in  a  classified 
collection  of  extracts.  It  is  rarely  practicable  for  in- 
dividuals to  preserve  files  of  newspapers  ;  and,  when 
preserved,  such  files  are  usually  of  more  trouble  than 
value,  from  their  bulk  and  lack  of  harmonious  arrange- 
ment. The  remedy  referred  to  may  be  secured  by  a 
free  use  of  scissors.  As  newspapers  are  compiled  by 
the  use  of  scissors,  so  let  them  be  dissected  by  the 
same  instrument  whenever  their  possessor  finds  in 
them  articles  he  may  wish  to  use  again.  '  But  to  avoid 
a  confused  heap  of  clippings,  let  the  yotmg  pastor  in 
particular  adopt  a  plan^  classification  corresponding 
to  his  ideas  of  convenience  and  utilityr^  If  no  better 
mode  occurs  to  his  mind,  let  him  label  a  sufficient 
number  of  large  envelopes^ith  such  titles  as  the  fol- 
lowing :  Admonitions y  Biblical  criticisms,  EducatioUy 
Examples  of  goodness,  Happy  deaths,  Horrors  of  war. 
Illustrations  of  doctrine,  Infidelity,   Missionary  facts^ 


INDEXES,  269 

Parental  obligations,  Scientific  discoveries,  Temperance, 
Youthful  piety, %\.z.  When  extracts  are  made,  let 
them  be  distributed  to  their  proper  compartments, 
and  let  the  packages  of  extracts  be  kept  for  consulta- 
tion and  use  whenever  wanted.  Subsequent  exam- 
inations will,  from  use  or  otherwise,  cause  some  of 
the  articles  to  be  thrown  out,  and  thus  the  collection, 
although  frequently  enlarged,  may  be  kept  within  con- 
venient space. 

Some  plan  of  this  kind,  wrought  out  by  an  individ- 
ual for  himself,  will  be  of  more  practical  value  to  him 
than  encyclopedias  of  anecdote  and  illustration  se- 
lected in  a  similar  manner  by  others,  but  used  in 
common  by  thousands  of  persons.  This  plan  will 
also  have  the  twofold  advantage  of  enabling  him  to 
defer  the  detailed  reading  of  many  articles  till  the 
time  when  they  may  be  of  special  use,  and  also  of 
having  matter  collected  in  advance  for  subjects  and 
occasions  likely  to  arise  in  the  course  of  future  duty 
and  study. 

As  to  the  contents  of  books  they  ought  always  to 
be  easily  accessible  from  their  indexes,  and  one's  gen- 
eral knowledge  of  their  character ;  hence  the  old  sys- 
tem of  a  commonplace-book  filled  with  copied  extracts, 
or  of  an  Index  Rerum  with  multiplied  references,  can 
not  be  considered  worthy  a£-recommendation,  unless 
for  some  specific  purpose.  \A  practical  man's  Index 
Rerum  must  be  in  his  own  mindA 

But  there  is  an  additional  mode  in  which  pastors 
may  most  appropriately  accumulate  material  for  in- 
struction, illustration,  and  admonition,  which  may  be 
of  more  specific  value  to  them  than  the  contents  of 


2/0  A  PASTOR'S  RECORD-BOOK, 

either  newspapers  or  books.  Each  pastor  should  have 
his  personal  record-book,  in  which  to  record,  from 
time  to  time,  incidents  from  his  own  experience  and 
observation,  that  may  serve  good  purposes  in  conver- 
sation, in  Sunday-school  and  platform  addresses,  and 
occasionally  in  sermons.  Ultimately,  a  selection  of 
these  same  incidents  may  be  found  worthy  of  publi- 
cation, and  become  a  useful  contribution  to  current 
religious  literature.  As  a  sample  of  what  may  grow 
out  of  such  a  record,  see  volumes  entitled,  "  A  Pas- 
tor's Sketches,"  first  and  second  series,  by  the  late  Dr. 
Spencer,  of  Brooklyn ;  also  "  Sketches  from  the  Study 
of  an  Itinerant,"  by  Dr.  A.  Stevens.  The  pastor's 
record-book  should  be  kept  separate  from  his  diary, 
and  also  from  his  pocket  memorandums  of  visits, 
calls,  etc.  All  these  will  furnish  data  for  the  record 
proposed  in  which  time  and  space  should  be  taken  to 
delineate  details  while  they  are  fresh  in  his  recollec- 
tion. Otherwise  as  incidents  multiply  in  the  course 
of  years,  facts  may  become  blended  and  confused  in 
memory,  to  the  injury  of  one's  mind,  and  possibly  to 
the  prejudice  of  his  veracity.  If  the  chronological 
order  be  observed,  an  alphabetical  or  classified  index 
will  render  its  contents  easily  available. 

The  list  of  a  pastor's  personal  duties  would  not  be 
complete  without  including  his  domestic  and  religious 
obligations.  But  as  these  subjects  will  be  discussed 
in  chapters  relating  to  the  family  and  to  society, 
further  reference  to  them  in  this  connection  will  be 
omitted. 


PASTORAL  APPOINTMENT,  271 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  DUTIES  OF  A  PASTOR— PUBLIC— OFFICIAL. 

THE  public  duties  of  a  pastor  are  so  numerous 
and  important  as  to  require  treatment  under 
several  distinct  heads.  With  a  view  to  presenting 
them  appropriately,  it  is  proposed  to  adopt  a  serial 
order,  to  be  extended  through  several  succeeding 
chapters,  in  which  the  pastor  will  be  contemplated 
in  the  various  relations  which  it  is  necessary  for  him 
to  sustain  at  the  present  period  of  Christian  history 
and  Church  progress. 

It  seems  proper  to  begin  with  duties  growing  out 
of  the  pastoral  relation  itself  That  relation  can  not 
exist,  in  its  full  sense,  apart  from  a  pre-existent  and 
organized  Church,  which,  in  some  form,  accepts  and 
recognizes  the  pastor  as  its  spiritual  overseer.  A 
minister  of  the  gospel,  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty 
as  an  evangelist,  may  organize  a  Church,  and  become 
its  pastor  by  the  act  of  Christian  persons  accepting 
Church  membership  under  his  own  ministry  of  the 
word.  From  that  nucleus  he  may  proceed  to  organize 
other  Churches,  of  which  he  or  other  ministers  may 
take  the  pastoral  charge.  Again,  several  Churches 
may  become  affiliated  under  the  joint  pastorate  of  two 
or  more  ministers.     But  without  pausing  to  consider 


272  VARIED  CONDITIONS. 

the  possible  variations  in  which  the  pastoral  office 
may  exist,  it  will  now  be  assumed  that  a  divinely 
called  and  duly  ordained  minister  of  the  gospel  has 
been  appointed  in  some  mutually  recognized  form  as 
the  pastor  of  a  body  of  Christian  believers  associated 
together  in  Church  fellowship. 

Previously,  this  minister  was  only  a  pastor  in  rank 
Pastoral  reia-  or  thcory,  Hkc  a  general  without  a  com- 
tion completed,  ^i^nd.  Now  hc  bccomcs  invested  with 
the  official  charge  of  souls,  and  is  a  pastor  in  fact. 
Previously,  the  Church,  though  duly  organized  as  to 
its  internal  structure,  was  without  a  visible  head,  and 
lacked  regular  preaching,  together  with  the  official 
administration  of  the  ordinances  of  God's  house.  The 
appointment  now  made  completes  the  relations  both 
of  pastor  and  flock,  and  consummates  the  scriptural 
plan  of  a  Church  of  Christ.  A  normal  pastorate  hav- 
ing been  thus  established,  the  pastor,  in  harmony  with 
his  personal  obligations  to  God,  owes  his  first  duties 
to  his  Church.  From  that  Church  he  is  entitled  to 
expect  and  to  receive  support,  both  material  and 
moral.  With  it  he  must  be  in  harmonious  and  effi- 
cient co-operation  for  all  purposes  of  Christian  activ- 
ity, so  that  by  mutual  diligence  and  faithfulness  both 
may  expect  to  receive  the  divine  blessing  in  their 
endeavors  to  promote  the  spread  of  truth  and  the 
salvation  of  men. 

As  such  a  pastorate  may  exist  under  various  forms 
of  Church  government,  its  duties  may  be  more  or  less 
modified  by  the  minor  variations  of  different  Church 
constitutions,  without  impairing  in  any  degree  its 
normal  and  representative  character.     With  this  con- 


AUTHOR'S  POINT  OF  VIEW.  273 

cession,  to  any  who  prefer  a  different  mode  of  Church 
government,  the  writer  will  hereafter  feel  free  to  make 
specific  reference  to  his  own,  and  to  discuss  pastoral 
duties  as  they  ought  to  be  practiced  in  accordance 
with  the  polity  and  usages  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  using  technical  phraseology  whenever  it  may 
seem  to  be  required. 

In  taking  this  course  no  apologetic  attitude  is 
deemed  necessary.  The  character  and  peculiarities 
of  Methodism  have  been  already  fully  vindicated, 
both  by  discussion  and  by  events.  From  a  portion 
of  those  events  it  may  be  seen  that  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  during  the  first  century  of  its  his- 
tory, has  had  no  occasion  to  borrow  luster  from  the 
successes  of  any  other  Church  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  A  period  has  therefore  been  reached  when, 
for  its  own  sake,  not  less  than  for  the  advantage  of  the 
thousands  of  young  men  who  may  be  expected  to  be- 
come its  pastors  in  coming  years,  a  somewhat  full 
delineation  of  its  pastoral  requirements  and  necessi- 
ties seems  called  for.  Nor  is  it  believed  that  an  at- 
tempt to  meet  this  requisition  will  diminish,  either  in 
candor  or  breadth  of  view,  the  general  discussion 
already  introduced.  On  the  other  hand,  some  practi- 
cal exemplification  of  the  theory  of  the  pastoral  office 
seems  necessary,  and  the  author  thinks  proper  to  give 
it  by  reference  to  a  modern  and  efficient  Church  or- 
ganization with  which  he  is  familiar.  His  course  in 
this  regard  is  at  least  in  harmony  with  that  of  other 
writers  on  the  subject,  who  have,  with  few  or  no  ex- 
ceptions, sought,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  elucidate 
their  several  views  of  Church  economy. 


274  ITINERANCY, 

By  some  it  has  been  erroneously  supposed,  and 
recklessly  asserted,  that  an  itinerant  ministry  can  not 
properly  perform  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office. 
Facts,  however,  prove  that  a  well-regulated  itinerancy, 
which  is  no  more  nor  less  than  a  system  for  the  reg- 
ular distribution  of  ministerial  labor,  magnifies  that 
office.  Under  the  efficient  administration  of  such  a 
system,  though  ministers  change  and  die,  the  pastoral 
office  is  perpetual.  If,  under  the  itinerant  system, 
Churches  do  not  elect  their  pastors,  neither  do  they 
dismiss  nor  expel  them.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
accept  and  surrender  the  pastors  who  are  sent  to  and 
from  them  with  cheerfulness,  considering  the  general 
good  superior  to  their  individual  pleasure,  although 
usually  in  harmony  with  it.  Nothing  is  more  certain 
than  the  fact  that  the  million  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  consider  their  itinerant  sys- 
tem of  ministerial  supply  highly  advantageous  for 
them,  however  it  may  devolve  the  burden  of  frequent 
removals  on  the  pastors  themselves. 

Nevertheless,  as  this  system  also  furnishes  to  min- 
isters appropriate  fields  of  labor  without  subjecting 
them  to  embarrassing  candidacies  and  indefinite 
delays,  as  it  saves  them  the  pain  of  constrained  dis- 
missals by  giving  them  new  fields  of  labor  at  regular 
periods,  and  as  it,  without  solicitation  on  their  part, 
secures  to  them  advancement  in  proportion  to  their 
merits,  ministers  themselves  have  just  occasion  to 
prize  it  also.  Hence,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  both  min- 
isters and  people  who  understand,  from  experience, 
the  actual  working  of  the  itinerancy,  are  more  than 
contented  with  it,  in  the  established  conviction  of  its 


DIVINE  GUIDANCE.  275 

preponderating  advantages  to  the  genera)  interests  of 
the  Church. 

To  the  ministers  who  enter  upon  the  system  in  its 
true  spirit— that  of  committing  their  ways  to  the 
Lord,  that  he  may  direct  their  steps,  and  trusting 
him  to  do  so  through  the  economy  of  the  Church — 
there  is  a  pecuhar  satisfaction  in  accepting  pastoral 
appointments  as  a  direct  gift  from  the  Lord.  How- 
ever others  may  sneer  at  the  idea,  or  seek,  directly  or 
indirectly,  to  accomplish  personal  ends,  they  stand 
firmly  to  the  principle  of  awaiting,  with  calmness  and 
confidence,  direction  from  on  high.  Nor  are  they 
disappointed  in  the  result.     Take  an  example : 

A  minister  receives  an  appointment  to  a  Church 
in  which  possibly  he  had  not  a  single  acquaintance, 
and  whose  members  were  equally  unacquainted  with 
him.  But  the  Church  to  whose  pastorate  he  is  des- 
ignated, having  the  same  confidence  in  the  divine 
guidance  through  appropriate  instrumentalities  as  he 
himself  has,  receives  him  as  a  messenger  of  the  Lord, 
and  welcomes  him  to  the  immediate  discharge  of  his 
duties.  Let  us  now  consider  those  various  branches 
of  official  duty  which  will  require  his  attention. 

As  soon  as  possible  he  needs  to  form  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  his  Church  as  a  whole,  ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
and  its  members  in  particular.  He  is  not 
to  remain  a  stranger,  but  to  make  himself  at  home 
within  his  charge.  He  is  not  to  look  on  as  a  specta- 
tor, but  to  enter  as  a  participant  into  all  the  social, 
religious,  and  benevolent  activities  of  the  community 
of  which  he  is  to  become  a  member,  and  the  sooner 
he  does  so  the  better.     Let  him,  therefore,  from  the 


2/6  PERSONAL  RECOGNITION. 

first,  lay  aside  all  claims  to  ceremonious  attention, 
considering  that,  whether  others  call  on  him  or  not, 
it  is  his  duty  to  seek  out  and  know  them. 

This  is  a  task  which,  to  a  young  man  naturally 
diffident,  may  seem  formidable.  But  its  difficulties 
are  more  apparent  than  actual.  The  new  pastor  may, 
from  the  first,  count  upon  the  sympathy  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  upon  the  fact  that  they  are  not  less  desirous 
of  his  acquaintance  than  he  of  theirs.  Besides,  the 
circle,  once  entered,  naturally  expands,  and,  with 
appropriate  effort,  never  ceases  to  enlarge.  Each 
acquaintance  formed,  each  friend  acquired,  gladly  in- 
troduces him  to  other  friends,  who  in  turn  multiply 
introductions  in  their  several  circles  of  association. 

Here  let  it  be  said,  with  emphasis,  that  the  pastor 
should  aim  to  know  personally,  and  to  be 

Recognition.  .     , 

able  to  call  by  name  at  sight,  every  mem- 
ber of  his  Church,  if  not  every  regular  attendant 
upon  his  congregation.  It  is  both  embarrassing  to  a 
pastor,  and  highly  prejudicial  to  his  influence,  not  to 
be  able  to  recognize  promptly  any  member  of  his 
charge.  Some  men  expose  themselves  to  this  embar- 
rassment, and  to  more  prejudice  than  they  are  aware 
of,  by  yielding  to  the  weak  notion  or  professing  the 
ridiculous  affectation  that  they  can  not  remember 
names,  and  thus  go  through  life  wasting  more  time 
in  making  reiterated  apologies  than  would  have  been 
necessary  to  discipline  their  minds  to  so  easy  and 
agreeable  a  task.  The  pastor  having  accepted  the 
idea  that  he  may  and  must  know  every  member  of  his 
flock  by  name,  each  additional  acquaintance  formed 
becomes  a  step  toward  that  desirable  result.     This, 


LISTS  OF  MEMBERS,  2^7 

followed  by  the  habit  of  speaking  to  each  one  when- 
ever occasion  offers,  will  confirm  recollection,  and 
make  it  possible  to  enlarge  the  circle  of  remembered 
acquaintances  almost  without  limit. 

In  a  properly  organized  Church  the  facilities  for 
securing  information  respecting  the  mem-  p^^.j.^.^ 
bers  are  so  great  that  a  new  pastor,  with 
a  determined  purpose,  may  in  a  very  short  time  pos- 
sess himself  of  a  general  knowledge  of  the  entire 
persoimel  of  his  flock.  In  order  to  this,  let  him, 
immediately  on  arriving  in  his  charge,  consult  the 
Church  record.  If  that  is  properly  kept  he  will  find 
in  it,  besides  other  important  items,  a  summary  sketch 
of  the  past  history  of  the  Church,  and  a  full  list  of 
all  the  official  members,  another  list  of  members  as 
distributed  in  Church  classes,  and  also  a  list  of  bap- 
_tized  children. 

An  examination  of  these  lists  will  show  him  the 
nature  and  extent  of  his  task,  and  if  either  of  the 
lists  of  members  should  also  indicate  their  residences 
one  of  the  principal  difficulties  of  the  case  will  disap- 
pear at  once.     The  first  reading  of  these  lists  will 
put  him  in  possession  of  more  or  less  names  of  fami- 
lies, concerning  whom  he  should  commence  inquiries 
at  the   first   opportunity.     As   soon  thereafter  as   he 
can  secure  a  meeting  of  the  leaders  and  stewards  he 
will  find  himself  in  the  presence  of  persons  to  whom 
collectively  every  member  of  the  Church  is  known, 
and  by  whom  all  his  inquiries  concerning  individuals 
can  be  answered  at  once.     If  he  should  then  engage 
the  several  leaders  to  attend  him  in  making  his  first 
calls,  so  long  as  he  may  need  guidance  or  introduc- 


278  FREQUENT  MEETINGS. 

tions,  and  with  their  co-operation  proceed  to  make 
calls  as  early  as  possible,  he  will  be  surprised  at  the 
little  time  necessary  for  forming  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  a  large  community.  If  the  various  persons 
Multiplied  in-  in  such  a  community  were  only  to  be  seen 
terviews.  oucc,  or  cvcn  a  few  times,  there  would  be 

less  motive  for  the  systematic  measures  recommended. 
But  these  are  the  very  persons  whom  the  pastor  will 
expect  to  see  in  his  congregations,  his  prayer-meet- 
ings, his  social  assemblies,  and  his  daily  walks  dur- 
ing the  whole  term  of  his  pastorate.  Hence,  having 
learned  who  they  personally  are,  he  will  easily  and 
almost  insensibly  continue  to  add  to  his  knowledge 
of  each  one,  and  consequently  to  his  ability  of  doing 
each  one  good.  One  who  has  not  made  the  experi- 
ment can  scarcely  be  aware  of  the  great  advantage 
which  a  pastor  may  secure  from  a  prompt  and  general 
acquaintance  with  the  members  of  his  Church  and 
congregation,  whereas  neglect  of  the  duty  thus  shown 
to  be  practicable  in  the  highest  degree  may  result  in 
impressions  that  their  new  pastor  is  distant,  or  cer- 
emonious, or  in  some  way  less  interested  in  their 
welfare  than  he  ought  to  be — impressions  which,  if 
allowed  to  be  made,  may  not  be  easily  removed,  or 
may  actually  rear  barriers  in  the  way  of  his  useful- 
ness at  a  time  when  he  ought  to  have  access  to  every 
heart.  Such  is  the  constitution  of  the  human  mind 
,    that  persons  are  always  pleased  to  form 

Advantages  of  -^         ^ 

first  acquaint-    ncw  acquaintauccs,  and  to  pay  respect  to 

a  stranger  favorably  introduced   to   them. 

Hence  the  best  opportunities  a  pastor  can  ever  have 

for  becoming  acquainted  with  his  people  occur  soon 


COURTESY,  279 

after  his  arrival  and  during  the  earlier  periods  of  his 
ministerial  service  among  them.  Then,  if  ever,  he 
can  introduce  the  Master  to  those  who  welcome  the 
servant,  and  thus  lay  the  foundation  of  a  religious 
influence  upon  which  he  may  hope  to  build  during 
his  whole  sojourn  in  their  midst. 

Whether  a  minister's  term  of  service  be  longer 
or  shorter  in  any  community,  he  should  consider  it 
obligatory  upon  him  to  maintain,  from  first  to  last, 
habits  of  Christian  sociality.  He  should  have  a  kind 
and  pertinent  word,  as  well  as  a  friendly  recognition, 
for  every  one.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that  he  can 
properly  fulfill  the  apostolic  precept,  "Be  courteous," 
which  literally  means,  "Be  friendly-minded."  It  cor- 
responds, moreover,  to  the  proverb,  "  If  a  man  would 
have  friends,  let  him  show  himself  friendly."  Many 
ministers  acknowledge  the  obligation  of  courtesy  in 
their  social  intercourse  who  have  not  accustomed 
themselves  to  consider  it  a  part  of  their  official  duty. 
For  this  reason  the  greater  emphasis  is  here  em- 
ployed. This  principle — the  law  of  kindness  in  his 
heart  and  on  his  tongue — is  precisely  what  is  needed 
to  render  a  minister's  official  intercourse  with  his 
people  an  agency  of  spiritual  good.  A  minister  who 
illustrates  the  grace  of  Christian  courtesy  has  been 
well  sketched  by  another : 

"All  his  movements  are  as  graceful  as  they  are  benevolent 
and  kind.  He  eschews  all  awkwardness,  all  obtrusiveness,  all 
indecent  haste,  all  roughness  of  speech  and  manners.  He 
wears  an  open,  respectful,  and  gracious  countenance.  He  con- 
verses with  equal  dignity,  simplicity,  and  propriety.  He  listens 
with  careful  attention  when  another  speaks,  and  regards  with 
proper  attention  all  that  is  said.     His  general  appearance  and 


280  THE   COURTEOUS  PASTOR, 

habits  are,  if  possible,  such  as  to  offend  no  one,  but  rather  what 
are  calculated  to  insure  the  approbation  and  attract  the  respect 
and  affections  of  his  people  and  the  public.  He  is,  in  all  re- 
spects and  in  all  circumstances,  a  true  Christian  gentleman. 
Nor  does  he  for  once  lay  aside  this  character,  in  whatever  duty 
or  exigency  of  his  pastorship.  Does  he  instruct?  It  is  not 
with  haughtiness,  and  so  as  to  convey  to  those  instructed  a 
painful  sense  of  their  inferiority.  Does  he  reprove  ?  It  is  not 
with  the  scorpion's  sting,  but  with  'the  lip  of  kindness,'  such  as 
wins  back  the  erring  to  the  paths  of  righteousness.  Must  he 
inflict  sorrow  .''  It  is  always  with  reluctance,  and  witli  an  unwa- 
vering eye  to  the  good  of  the  sufferer.  Does  he  'warn  every 
one  .-*'  It  is  not  with  the  countenance  and  tones  of  a  task-mas- 
ter, but  with  the  gentleness  of  a  lamb.  Does  he  enter  one  and 
another  house  ?  All  his  conduct  there,  to  the  last  words  he 
utters  as  he  gives  his  blessing  at  departing,  bespeaks  him  a 
well-bred  man.  Do  others  enter  his  own  doors  ?  His  smiling 
countenance,  his  unfeigned  pleasure  and  good-will,  his  hearty 
welcome,  his  kind  attentions,  his  gentlemanly  bearing  and  pol- 
ished manners,  all  evince  the  genuine  scholar  in  the  lovely  and 
heavenly  principles  of  religion  undefiled.  Even  as  Paul,  by  his 
inoffensive  and  beautiful  conduct  he  pleases  'all  men  in  all 
things,'  if  that  be  possible,  not  seeking  therein  his  own  profit, 
but  the  profit  of  many,  that  they  may  be  saved."  * 

Ministers  who  illustrate  the  grace  of  courtesy  as 
thus  commended,  with  habitual  reference  to  the  pre- 
cept, "  Condescend  to  men  of  low  estate,"  are  enabled 
to  bestow  priceless  blessings  on  the  poor  and  afflicted. 
Persons  in  prosperous  circumstances  are  little  aware 
of  the  value  of  kind  words  to  those  who  are  depressed 
with  misfortune  and  tempted  to  write  bitter  things 
against  themselves  and  their  prospects.  Few  states 
of  mind  are  more  open  to  temptation,  especially  when 
such  persons  are  led  to  think  that  no  man  cares  for 
their  souls.     The  multitude  passes  them  heedlessly 

*Dr.  C.  Adams.     See  also  Bishop  Ames  on  Courtesy,  Appendix  B. 


KINDNESS   TO   THE  POOR.  28 1 

by,  men  of  business  have  other  thoughts  and  cares, 
and  if  the  man  of  God,  through  carelessness,  mis- 
taken ideas  of  dignity,  or  any  other  cause,  treats 
them  with  neglect,  how  can  they  avoid  thinking 
themselves  forsaken  ?  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he,  like 
his  divine  Master,  "goes  about  doing  good,"  seeking 
and  saving  them  that  are  lost,  how  many  broken 
hearts  can  he  cheer,  how  many  sorrows  solace,  and 
how  many  afflicted  souls  can  he  point  to  the  true 
source  of  consolation! 

Young  and  weak  Christians  specially  need  frequent 
and  kind  attentions  of  this  nature,  and  the  pastor  who 
renders  them  will  find  himself  compensated  a  thou- 
sand-fold for  any  effort  that  may  be  necessary  to 
acquire  and  maintain  the  habit  of  speaking  kindly  to 
every  one,  and  of  going  out  of  his  way  to  show 
Christian  attention  to  those  who  are  liable  to  be 
neglected. 

The  official  meeting  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  not  only  affords  the  pastor  great  official  heip- 
facilities  for  extending  his  acquaintance  in  ^'■^• 
the  Church,  but  it  introduces  him  to  the  inner  work- 
ings of  the  whole  organization  and  the  actual  admin- 
istration of  its  affairs.  The  leaders  of  classes,  as 
pastoral  assistants,  may  be  expected  collectively  to 
know  what  is  the  spiritual  condition  of  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  and  prepared  to  report  any  who 
are  neglectful  of  duty  or  disorderly  in  conduct,  to- 
gether with  any  who  may  be  sick  or  needy  of  relief. 
The  stewards  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  furnish- 
ing relief  to  the  poor,  as  well  as  of  collecting  and 
disbursing  the   current   funds  of  the  Church.     The 

24 


282  RECEPTION  OF  MEMBERS. 

questions  prescribed  by  the  Church  Discipline  to  be 
asked  by  the  pastor  at  meetings  of  the  leaders  and 
stewards  have  reference  to  various  pastoral  duties, 
some  of  which  deserve  special  consideration. 

I.  The  reception  of  members. 

The  economy  of  our  Church  devolves  on  pastors 
as  an  official  duty  the  responsibility  of  admitting 
members,  both  on  trial  and  into  full  connection. 
The  Discipline,  indeed,  gives  various  cautions,  and 
calls  for  the  co-operative  advice  of  leaders  as  a  means 
of  making  it  certain  that  none  but  suitable  persons 
are  admitted  to  either  relation.  Nevertheless,  it  im- 
plies that  the  authority  of  the  act  in  all  its  forms  is 
lodged  where  our  Savior  placed  it,  in  the  appointed 
overseer  of  the  flock.*  The  propriety  of  maintaining 
th€  duty  of  receiving  members  as  a  pastoral  function, 
in  opposition  to  its  surrender  to  the  Church  as  a 
whole  or  to  some  part  of  it,  was  fully  shown  by  Bish- 
ops Coke  and  Asbury  in  their  notes  appended  to  the 
Discipline  of  1796.!  The  theory  and  true  economy 
of  our  Church  having  been  so  well  defined  in  the 
outset,  and  having  been  confirmed  by  a  long  and 
favorable  experience,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  there  will 

*This  duty  of  officially  admitting  members  to  the  Church,  and  the 
corresponding  duty  of  excluding  improper  persons  from  the  Church  iri 
accordance  with  scriptural  precepts,  these  and  nothing  more  are  taught 
by  Matthew  xvi,  19,  as  may  be  understood  from  a  just  interpretation. 
The  context  and  parallel  passages  show  that  our  Lord  addressed  Simon 
Bar-Jona,  not  in  his  individual  capacity,  but  as  a  representative  of  the 
disciples,  employing,  not  literal,  but  highly  figurative  forms  of  expres- 
sion. To  interpret  the  passage  literally,  as  the  Romanists  do  in  order 
to  maintain  their  theory  as  to  "the  power  of  the  keys,"  is  just  as 
absurd  as  to  predicate  transubstantiation  upon  a  similar  interpretation 
of  the  figurative  expression,  "This  is  my  body." 

tSee  Appendix  to  Emory's  History  of  the  Discipline,  pp.  358-361. 


PROBATIONERS,  283 

be  no  departure  from  it  in  future.  Yet  it  is  to  be 
confessed  that  some  of  our  disciplinary  changes  have 
treated  the  point  under  consideration  with  less  defi- 
niteness  than  is  desirable. 

Assuming  that  the  reception  of  members  into  the 
Church  is  an  inalienable  pastoral  right  and  bounden 
duty,  it  is  now  desired  to  impress  upon  young  pastors 
the  grave  responsibility  of  the  task,  together  with 
some  suggestions  as  to  what  it  requires  in  practical 
detail. 

(i.)  The  enrollment  of  probationers.  As  a  term  of 
probation  with  us,  like  the  catechumenate  in  the 
ancient  Church,  is  the  door  of  entrance  into  Church 
communion  and  fellowship,  every  pastor  among  us 
should  consider  it  his  primary  and  urgent  duty  to 
enroll  as  many  persons  as  probationers  as  he  can,  by 
all  legitimate  means,  persuade  to  endeavor  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come.  In  this  view,  while  he 
should  be  diligent  to  pluck  the  aged  "  as  brands  from 
the  burning,"  and,  in  fact,  should  overlook  no  class  or 
condition  of  men,  he  should  be  specially  mindful  of 
baptized  children  and  the  youth  of  his  Sunday-school. 

(2.)  The  care  of  probationei's.  Toward  persons  en- 
rolled in  preliminary  Church  membership,  he  should 
employ  all  faithful  diUgence  to  instruct  them  in  the 
truth,  and  encourage  them  in  the  duties  of  religion, 
with  a  view  to  securing  their  steadfastness  in  the  di- 
vine life  and  service.  It  can  not  be  doubted  that, 
from  neglect  or  inattention  at  this  point,  our  Church 
has  suffered  great  loss,  while  many  precious  souls 
have  been  allowed  to  go  back  to  "the  beggarly  ele- 
ments of   the   world,"    who,   by  diligent  watch-care, 


284  PASTORAL  SOLICITUDE. 

might  have  been  saved.  Of  the  first  importance  in 
this  branch  of  ministerial  duty  is  an  affectionate  pas- 
toral solicitude,  which  should  manifest  itself  in  visits, 
in  correspondence  with  individuals,  and  in  special  lec- 
tures, in  which  the  privileges  and  duties  of  Church 
membership  should  be  clearly  set  forth.  Every  pro- 
bationer should  also  have  a  copy  of  our  Articles  of 
Religion,  and,  when  practicable,  of  the  entire  Dis- 
cipline placed  in  his  hands  for  examination  and  pres- 
ervation. In  addition  to  what  a  pastor  can  personally 
do  in  behalf  of  the  young  Christians  in  his  Church, 
he  should,  by  due  inquiry  and  observation,  make  sure 
that  each  probationer  has  a  proper  leader  and  conge- 
nial class  associations.  The  allotment  of  probation- 
ers and  members  to  suitable  classes  is  an  official  pas- 
toral responsibility,  the  importance  of  which  is  rarely 
considered,  and  never  overestimated.  In  attending 
to  it  the  pastor  should  not  always  be  governed  by 
the  impulse  of  the  individual,  neither  should  he  deem 
it  so  important  to  fill  up  vacant  classes,  nor  to  prorate 
members  equally  among  the  whole  number  of  classes, 
as  to  have  each  individual  under  just  the  right  influ- 
ence. There  is  no  period  in  human  life  at  which 
persons  are  more  susceptible  of  good  impressions 
than  at  the  beginning  of  their  career  as  professing 
Christians.  Hence  at  that  peculiar  period  it  is  of  un- 
speakable importance  that,  by  all  appropriate  means, 
their  minds  be  enlightened,  and  their  hearts  en- 
deared to  the  Savior  and  the  Church. 

(3.)  Reception  mto  full  membership.  When,  in  due 
time,  the  act  of  reception  into  full  membership  in  the 
Church  is  in  order,  it  should  be  performed,  not  with 


ADMISSION  TO  FULL  MEMBERSHIP,  285 

cold  formality,  nor  with  seeming  indifference,  but 
rather  with  an  affectionate  interest  and  an  impressive 
solemnity,  appropriate  to  one  of  the  most  important 
transactions  of  human  life,  which  also  has  a  direct 
reference  to  the  life  immortal.  This  act  should  be 
preceded  by  faithful,  and  if  possible  repeated,  conver- 
sations, in  which  queries  should  be  freely  solved,  and 
attention  called  to  the  nature  and  solemnity  of  the 
vows  about  to  be  assumed. 

2.  The  administration  of  baptism. 

The  administration  of  the  rite  of  baptism  is  an  im- 
portant ministerial  duty,  pertaining  more  especially, 
though  not  exclusively,  to  the  office  of  pastor.  It  is 
an  obligation  of  the  pastor  to  exhort  parents  to  con- 
secrate their  children  to  God  in  this  holy  ordinance, 
and,  in  the  act  of  their  so  doing,  to  charge  them  sol- 
emnly with  the  duties  pertaining  to  the  domestic 
instruction  of  their  offspring,  in  whatever  relates  to 
Christian  knowledge  and  practice. 

It  devolves  on  the  pastor,  also,  to  "preserve  a  full 
and  accurate  register  of  the  names  of  all  the  baptized 
children  within  his  pastoral  care."  This  rule  implies 
that  such  children  are  entitled  to  certificates  of  re- 
moval, and  to  reception  and  enrollment  in  the  charges 
to  which  they  remove.  By  this  means  they  should  be 
kept  under  continued  pastoral  watch-care,  up  to  the 
period  when  they  may  assume  a  full  and  voluntary 
connection  with  the  Church. 

The  baptism  of  adults  who  have  not  been  previ- 
ously baptized  usually  takes  place  during  the  period 
of  Church  probation,  and  consequently  calls  for  sim- 
ilar instruction  in  reference  to  the  design  of  the  ordi- 


286  A  PRIMARY  OBLIGATION. 

nance  and  the  tenor  of  baptismal  vows.  Through 
inadvertence,  many  pastors  have  fallen  into  the  error 
of  deferring  baptism  till  near  the  close  of  the  can- 
didate's probation.  Wherever  such  a  practice  has 
obtained,  it  ought  to  be  corrected  without  delay. 
All  scripture  analogy,  and  all  the  proprieties  of  the 
case  indicate  that  baptism  should  be  one  of  the  first 
acts  associated  with  a  public  Christian  profession. 
The  baptism  of  the  three  thousand  at  Jerusalem,  of 
the  Ethiopian  eunuch  by  Philip,  and  of  the  Philippian 
jailer  and  his  family  by  Paul,  not  only  show  that  bap- 
tism was  an  initial  ordinance  of  the  New  Testament 
Church,  but  that  the  apostles  administered  it  in  im- 
mediate sequence  of  a  profession  of  faith.  Pastors, 
therefore,  should  not  fall  into  the  mistake  of  consid- 
ering our  probationary  period  as  designed  to  determine 
the  propriety  of  administering  baptism  to  candidates. 
Its  great  object  is  to  induce  and  enable  persons  to  be- 
come truly  Christians,  preparatory  to  their  assuming 
the  full  obligations  of  Church  membership ;  and,  as 
the  Christian  ordinances  are  means  of  grace,  we 
should  administer  them  to  suitable  candidates  when 
they  most  of  all  need  their  confirming  aid  as  auxiliary 
to  their  religious  welfare. 

Only  in  those  cases  where  persons  are  perplexed  in 
regard  to  the  mode  of  baptism,  should  this  rite  be 
deferred ;  and,  since  our  Church  gives  the  liberty  of 
choice  as  to  the  mode,  it  is  usually  best  to  urge 
prompt  decision  in  regard  to  that. 

3.  The  administration  of  the  Lord's-Supper. 

The  reception  of  the  eucharist  logically  follows  the 
rite  of  baptism,  and  only  in  rare  and  exceptional  cases 


CHRISTIAN  CONFIRMATION.  28/ 

should  be  allowed  to  precede  it.  As  an  ordinance  of 
the  highest  religious  solemnity  it  imposes  on  a  pastor 
the  duty  of  careful  consideration  as  to  the  character 
he  himself  maintains,  and  the  frames  of  mind  in  which 
he  administers  this  holy  sacrament.  It  also  requires 
him  to  give  suitable  instruction  and  faithful  admoni- 
tions to  the  people  lest  any  bring  themselves  into  con- 
demnation by  partaking  unworthily  of  the  Lord's  body. 

4.  Confirmation. 

While  we  do  not,  like  the  Greek  and  Roman 
Churches,  regard  confirmation  as  a  sacrament,  nor, 
like  some  Protestant  Churches,  as  a  ceremonial  rite, 
only  to  be  administered  by  bishops,  we  do  regard  it  as 
a  high  pastoral  obHgation  to  confirm  all  young  Chris- 
tians and  true  converts  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel  and 
in  the  practice  of  Christian  duties.  This  is  what  was 
done  by  Paul  and  Barnabas,  in  Lystra,  Iconium,  and 
Antioch,  "  confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples,  and 
exhorting  them  to  continue  in  the  faith  ;"*  and  also 
by  Paul  and  Silas,  when  they  went  through  Syria  and 
Cilicia,  "  confirming  the  Churches."!  While,  there- 
fore, ceremonial  confirmation  is  of  no  value,  and  often 
becomes  an  actual  injury,  from  being  represented  and 
supposed  to  confer  spiritual  advantages,  for  which 
there  is  no  warrant  either  in  reason  or  Scripture,  yet 
the  moral  and  spiritual  confirmation,  which  is  the  ap- 
propriate duty  of  every  true  pastor,  can  not  be  too 
highly  estimated,  or  made  the  subject  of  too  much 
judicious  and  anxious  efibrt.  Let  every  pastor,  there- 
fore, not  only  use  the  initial,  but  every  succeeding 
sacrament  as  an  occasion  for  the  spiritual  confirma- 

*  Acts  xiv,  22.  t  Acts  XV,  41. 


288  A  GENCIES  OF  CONFIRM  A  TION, 

tion,  especially  of  young  members  of  the  Church.  As 
agencies  in  this  important  work  special  sermons,  lec- 
tures, and  private  conversations  should  be  employed 
for  instruction  and  religious  impression,  while  the 
duties  of  prayer,  fasting,  and  self-examination  should 
be  earnestly  inculcated  as  auxiliary  to  the  highest 
spiritual  profit  of  every  one.  Nothing  more  surely 
betokens  spiritual  languor  than  a  formal  or  careless 
administration  and  reception  of  the  holy  sacraments  ; 
and  upon  the  pastor,  as  their  authorized  administrator, 
it  depends,  in  a  great  degree,  to  control  the  important 
question.  Whether  these  appointed  means  of  grace 
are  to  be  the  "savor  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death 
unto  death." 

The  duties  above  referred  to  indirectly  but  clearly 
The  Church  imply  the  pastoral  obligation  of  great  famil- 
record.  iarity  with  the  names.  Church  relations,  and 

Christian  character  of  those  composing  his  flock.  The 
proper  fulfillment  of  that  obhgation  is  in  harmony 
with  the  pastoral  duty  of  keeping  the  Church  records, 
while  proper  personal  attention  to  the  latter  greatly 
facilitates  an  accurate  knowledge,  not  merely  of  the 
names,  but  of  the  spiritual  condition  and  religious 
faithfulness  of  the  different  members  of  the  Church. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  our  Discipline,  although 
specific  on  most  subjects,  lacks  definiteness  in  refer- 
ence to  Church  records.  In  the  order  of  business  for 
quarterly  conferences,  it  directs  the  presiding  elder  to 
inquire,  "  Are  the  Church  records  properly  kept  ?" 
But  it  does  not  say  who  is  to  answer  the  question, 
nor  in  what  manner  said  records  are  to  be  kept. 

From  the  periodical  asking  of  the  question  in  an 


DISCIPLINARY  REQUISITIONS.  289 

official  meeting,  to  which  a  traveling  minister  is  not 
amenable,  it  might  be  inferred  that  some  lay  officer 
of  the  Church — the  recording  steward,  for  example — 
is  responsible  for  the  keeping  of  the  Church  records. 
But  the  duties  of  that  officer  are  defined  to  be  the 
recording  of  the  minutes  of  the  quarterly  conference 
"in  a  book  kept  for  that  purpose."  At  most,  those 
minutes  can  only  be  considered  a  special  department 
of  the  proper  records  of  the  Church. 

Among  the  miscellaneous  duties  of  a  preacher,  the 
following  is  assigned  a  primary  place :  *'  To  take  a 
regular  catalogue  of  the  societies  in  towns  and  cities, 
as  they  live  in  the  streets."  Such  a  catalogue,  which 
it  would  appear  is  not  required  for  country  places, 
answers  to  only  a  very  meager  idea  of  a  Church  rec- 
ord. Hence,  some  have  queried  whether  it  did  not 
refer  to  a  private  list,  by  which  the  minister  is  guided 
in  his  visits,  and  which  he  passes  over  to  his  suc- 
cessor as  a  part  of  the  particular  account  of  his  circuit, 
called  for  by  the  next  paragraph. 

In  the  section  defining  the  relation  of  baptized  chil- 
dren to  the  Church,  the  Discipline  directs  that  "the 
preacher  in  charge  shall  preserve  a  full  and  accurate 
register  of  the  names  of  all  the  baptized  children 
within  his  pastoral  care  ;  the  dates  of  their  birth,  bap- 
tism, their  parentage,  and  places  of  residence." 

According  to  the  spirit  of  this  provision,  a  perma- 
nent baptismal  record  should  be  kept  in  every  charge, 
in  which  each  administrator  is  to  enter  the  record  of 
baptisms  as  they  are  performed.  Besides,  each  pastor 
should  ascertain  and  record  the  names,  ages,  etc.,  of 
baptized  children  who  have  come  within  his  pastoral 

25 


290  A  PASTORAL  RESPONSIBILITY, 

charge,  by  certificate  of  removal  or  otherwise,  since 
the  date  of  their  baptism. 

Among  his  other  specified  duties,  each  preacher  in 
charge  is  required  to  report  at  every  quarterly  confer- 
ence "  the  names  of  those  who  have  been  received  into 
the  Church  or  excluded  therefrom  during  the  quarter ; 
also  the  names  of  those  who  have  been  received  or 
dismissed  by  certificate,  and  of  those  who  have  died 
or  have  withdrawn  from  the  Church." 

He  is  further  "  to  take  an  exact  account  of  all  the 
matters  specified"  in  the  list  of  statistics  which  it  is 
his  duty  to  report  to  the  annual  conference,  "  and  also 
to  register  the  marriages  and  baptisms." 

It  is  true  that  the  account  and  reporting  called  for 
might  be  done  from  data  furnished  by  some  one  else ; 
and  we  understand  that,  in  some  Churches,  laymen 
take  exclusive  charge  of  the  Church  records,  and  that 
some  ministers  content  themselves  with  officially  re- 
porting statistics  furnished  them  at  second  hand. 

But  according  to  the  spirit  of  .the  Discipline,  and 
the  nature  of  the  case,  the  preacher  in  charge  is  per- 
sonally responsible  for  a  full  pastoral  record,  and 
ought,  in  every  possible  case,  to  keep  it  with  his  own 
hand.  If  any  doubt  could  possibly  exist  on  this  point, 
it  would  vanish  before  those  episcopal  decisions  and 
acts  of  the  General  Conference,  in  reference  to  with- 
drawal, which  recognize  the  entry  of  the  preacher  in 
charge  upon  the  Church  records  as  decisive  of  mem- 
bership or  non-membership. 

Essential  to  a  complete  Church  record  are  at  least 
the  following  departments  :  i.  A  record  of  probation- 
ers ;   2.  An  alphabetical  list  of  members ;    3.   A  list 


ESSENTIAL  DEPARTMENTS.  29! 

of  the  several  classes  ;  4.  A  record  of  baptisms  ;  5. 
Of  marriages.  Deaths  may  be  entered  opposite  the 
names  of  individuals  in  the  alphabetical  list.  Books 
specially  adapted  to  the  purpose  are  now  obtainable 
at  our  depositories. 

In  Great  Britain  this  class  of  duties,  at  least  for 
the  national  Churches,  is  regulated  by  civil  law.  The 
blank  books  are  prepared  by  the  royal  printer,  parishes 
are  obliged  to  provide  them,  and  ministers  to  keep 
them  in  iron  chests,  and  to  make  entries  of  baptisms, 
deaths,  and  burials  within  seven  days,  under  penalties. 

In  Churches  like  ours,  supported  on  the  voluntary 
system,  moral  motives  only  can  be  brought  to  bear. 
But  fortunately  motives  of  that  character  abound.  In 
our  pastoral  relations  we  are  sometimes  called  on  to 
verify  marriages,  deaths,  and  baptisms,  in  respect  to 
pecuniary  and  civil  considerations,  and  these,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  purely  religious  and  ecclesiastical  advan- 
tages of  properly  kept  Church  records,  should  suffice 
to  secure  due  attention  to  these  duties. 

The  special  uses  of  Church  records  may  be  con- 
sidered first  with  reference  to  the  advantage  of  pas- 
tors themselves.  As  already  suggested,  one  of  the 
first  duties  of  a  preacher  in  charge,  on  reaching 
his  appointment,  is  to  consult  the  records  of  the 
Church  whose  superintendence  he  is  about  to  assume. 
If  these  have  been  properly  kept,  they  will  teach  him 
lessons  of  essential  importance  in  reference  to  his 
immediate  and  future  work.  By  means  of  them  he 
will  be  able,  in  the  shortest  time,  to  learn  the  names, 
residences,  condition  in  life,  and  Church  relations  of 
all  his  members.     By  a  glance  backward  he  may  often 


292  ADVANTAGES   TO  A   NEW  PASTOR. 

gather  a  definite  idea  of  the  reHgious  history  of  in- 
dividuals and  families.  By  examining  the  list  of 
probationers  he  will  see  who  are  yet  on  trial,  and, 
consequently,  who  are  especially  entitled  to  his  per- 
sonal attention.  Prompt  and  affectionate  manifesta- 
tions of  interest  in  the  recent  converts  of  his  charge 
will  greatly  endear  him  to  them  individually,  and  re- 
move that  feeling  of  distance  and  reserve  which, 
without  effort  on  his  part,  is  sure  to  embarrass  his 
influence.  At  this  point  lies  one  of  the  most  weighty 
objections  to  the  itinerancy,  that  of  its  peremptorily 
sundering  the  relations  which  subsist  between  a  pas- 
tor and  his  spiritual  children.  The  newly  appointed 
minister  who  sets  himself  upon  ceremony,  and  makes 
no  calls  until  he  is  called  upon,  gives  currency  to  this 
objection,  and  often  lays  the  foundation  of  serious 
prejudices  against  his  Church,  not  unfrequently  cre- 
ating incurable  alienation  from  it.  But  he  that  with 
the  warm  heart  of  a  true  pastor  searches  out  recent 
converts,  and  those  who  are  on  trial  in  the  Church, 
adopts  them  as  his  own  children  in  the  Lord,  and 
cares  for  them  tenderly,  takes  away  all  force  from  the 
objection,  and  in  a  very  brief  time  secures  to  himself 
the  influence  that  his  predecessor  enjoyed  before  him. 
The  same  obligation  springs  out  of  the  list  of  bap- 
tized children.  Before  commencing  his  pastoral  visits, 
the  minister  should  study  it  as  a  directory,  so  as  to 
be  prepared  to  recognize  all  whose  names  are  there 
enrolled,  in  the  families  to  which  they  belong.  He 
should  also  be  on  the  alert  to  make  appropriate  addi- 
tions to  it  from  those  who  have  removed  within  his 
pastoral  care,  or  who  have  been  previously  overlooked, 


MEANS  OF  ACQUAINTANCE.  293 

seeking,  on  all  appropriate  occasions,  to  have  direct 
religious  conversation  with  these  lambs  of  the  flock. 
In  the  discharge  of  such  duties  the  pastorate  will 
gain  strength  continually  ;  whereas,  in  their  neglect, 
the  prosperity  of  a  Church  will  not  fail  to  decline 
from  the  periodical  changes  of  its  ministers. 

The  Church  records  should  not  only  be  examined 
by  the  pastor  in  private,  but  they  should  be  made  the 
subject  of  special  inquiry  in  the  leaders'  meeting. 
Any  thing  that  the  new  preacher  can  not  readily 
comprehend  will  there  probably  find  explanation.  In 
that  connection  he  should  also  enter  into  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  class-books  of  the  several  leaders, 
ascertaining  the  habits  of  individual  members  with 
reference  to  religious  duty,  and  thus  becoming  pre- 
pared to  encourage  or  "reprove,  rebuke,  and  exhort" 
in  his  intercourse  with  individuals. 

A  pastor  who  has  thus  possessed  himself  of  the 
instruction  suggested  by  the  Church  records  is  no 
longer  a  stranger  in  a  strange  community.  He  feels 
that,  in  a  great  degree,  he  knows  his  ground,  and, 
occupying  it  as  he  ought,  he  may  in  a  short  time 
wield  the  full  measure  of  pastoral  influence.  Such 
being  his  introduction  to  the  records  of  the  Church, 
he  should  recognize  the  importance  of  frequently  and 
personally  revising  it,  and  especially  of  putting  it  in 
perfect  order  at  the  end  of  each  conference  year. 

For  the  benefit  of  the  people  it  may  now  be  sug- 
gested that,  in  addition  to  the  permanent  manuscript 
records  of  the  Church,  it  is  well  to  publish  annually, 
in  a  neat  pamphlet,  a  summary  of  that  record  for  cir- 
culation.     In  cities  and  large  villages  printed  direc- 


294  PRINTED  DIRECTORIES. 

tories  will  usually  be  advantageous  far  beyond  their 
cost.  Some  of  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
them  are  these: 

1.  They  form  a  convenient  vehicle  for  a  pastoral 
address,  in  a  form  and  connection  not  likely  to  be 
soon  lost  sight  of 

2.  They  tend  to  interest  the  members,  young  and 
old,  in  Church  affairs, 

3.  They  tend  to  promote  acquaintance  between 
members  of  the  Church,  and  also  accessions  to  the 
Church,  in  various  ways. 

4.  They  are  especially  useful  as  a  card  of  invita- 
tion to  strangers,  and  a  means  of  direction  to  various 
Church  services,  which  may  not  only  be  distributed 
by  the  pastor,  but  by  his  coadjutors  in  various  spheres 
of  Christian  activity. 

5.  By  publishing  the  names  of  official  members 
and  committees  public  sanction  is  given  to  their 
appointment,  and  the  task  of  any  who  are  diffident 
is  made  lighter. 

6.  Such  a  publication  on  the  part  of  a  Church 
challenges  respect  from  those  within  and  without  by 
giving  religious  affairs  the  prominence  they  deserve. 

7.  A  collection  of  these  annual  issues  will  form,  in 
due  time,  a  valuable  history  of  the  Church  they  rep- 
resent, and  will  hand  down  to  posterity  many  inter- 
esting facts  that  might  otherwise  be  forgotten. 

For  the  guidance  of  any  young  pastor  who  may 
wish  to  publish  a  Church  record  and  directory  in  the 
most  useful  form  we  will  indicate  what  ought  to  be  its 
contents,  using  figures  for  designation  rather  than  to 
prescribe  an  invariable  order:  i.  A  historical  sketch. 


RIGHT  MEN  IN   THE  RIGHT  PLACES.  295 

2.  Pastor's  address.  3.  Officers  and  committees  of  the 
Church.  4.  Officers  and  teachers  (possibly  scholars) 
of  the  Sunday-school.  5.  Times  and  places  of  public 
and  social  worship.  6.  Alphabetical  list  of  members, 
with  their  residences,  indicating  by  figures  the  classes 
to  which  they  severally  belong,  and  by  asterisks  who 
are  probationers.  To  the  above  items  may  be  added, 
at  discretion,  a  financial  exhibit,  a  list  of  benevolent 
contributions,  and  any  thing  else  of  special  local  inter- 
est. In  every  case  care  should  be  taken  to  condense 
the  matter  into  a  compact  and  attractive  form,  and 
to  provide  in  advance  for  the  expense  of  publication. 
The  appointment  of  class-leaders  and  the  nomina- 
tion of  other  Church  officers  is  a  highly  responsible 
official  duty  of  a  pastor.  The  Discipline  requires 
the  preacher  in  charge  "to  appoint  all  the  leaders, 
to  change  them  when  he  sees  it  necessary,  and  to 
examine  each  of  them  with  all  possible  exactness 
at  least  once  a  quarter  concerning  his  method  of 
meeting  a  class."  This  rule,  based  upon  the  idea 
already  expressed,  is  designed  to  secure  assistance, 
not  antagonism,  in  the  pastoral  work.  Hence  the  sole 
authority  for  appointments  and  changes  of  that  class 
of  Church  officers  is  lodged  in  the  pastor  himself. 
To  exercise  this  prerogative  wisely  will  require  close 
discernment  of  capacity,  and  the  power  of  enlisting 
the  best  talent  of  the  Church  in  active  co-operation 
with  the  pastorate.  In  like  manner  the  nomination 
of  stewards,  trustees,  and  the  various  standing  com- 
mittees required  in  an  efficient  Church  will  devolve 
on  the  pastor  the  responsibility  of  appreciating  not 
merely  the  religious  worth,  but  the  personal  adapta- 


296  AN  UNHAPPY  TENDENCY. 

tion  of  various  individuals  for  specific  duties.  Great 
generals  have  been  distinguished  for  the  faculty  of 
selecting  the  right  men  for  the  right  places.  Great 
success  in  the  Christian  pastorate  is  largely  depend- 
ent on  the  same  faculty. 

The  preservation  of  peace  and  harmony  in  a  Church 
The  pastor  a  ^nd  commuuity  is  another  high  and  official 
peace-maker.  responsibility  of  a  pastor.  In  few  aspects 
does  human  nature  show  more  conclusive  proofs  of 
the  fall  than  in  the  common  tendency  to  strife  and 
discord.  Beautiful  pictures  are  often  drawn  of  the 
innocence,  loveliness,  and  purity  of  childhood.  Yet 
how  often  do  even  children  disagree  and  fall  into  col- 
lisions with  each  other  and  those  about  them !  It  is 
very  necessary  that  parental  restraint  guard  and  con- 
trol this  tendency  in  the  young,  and  that  conscientious 
heed  be  given  to  the  apostolic  caution,  "Ye  parents, 
provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath." 

Not  merely  from  ungoverned  tempers  in  childhood, 
but  from  the  frailty  and  sinfulness  of  men  at  all  peri- 
ods of  life,  how  common  are  disagreements  and  con- 
tentions in  the  varied  circumstances  in  which  human 
beings  meet!  How  rhany  families  have  been  dis- 
turbed and  divided  by  this  cause !  What  discomforts 
and  bickerings  have  been  introduced  into  neighbor- 
hoods, what  divisions  and  contentions  into  commu- 
nities, what  partisan  bitterness  into  political  and 
national  affairs,  and,  finally,  what  bloody  wars,  with 
their  untold  horrors,  have  taken  place  between  tribes 
and  nations  as  a  consequence  of  the  discordance  of 
those  who  ought  to  have  dwelt  together  in  peace  and 
love !    From  the  murder  of  Abel  by  his  brother  down 


THE   ONE  REMEDY.  297 

to  the  present  hour,  from  the  borders  of  Eden  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  how  has  human  passion  sought  to 
gratify  itself  in  acts  of  malevolence  and  revenge,  and, 
as  a  consequence,  what  miseries  and  wretchedness  have 
been  inflicted  upon  our  race ! 

For  this  unhappy  proclivity  of  our  fallen  nature, 
and  for  all  the  evils  attendant  upon  its  action,  Chris- 
tianity was  designed  as  a  sovereign  remedy.  Hence 
the  blessed  Savior  was  denominated  the  "Prince  of 
peace."  He  also  indicated  an  ever-present  and  prom- 
inent duty  of  his  disciples  when  he  directed  and  en- 
couraged them  to  be  peace-makers,  saying,  "Blessed 
are  the  peace-makers,  for  they  shall  be  called  the 
children  of  God." 

.  How  early  in  the  history  of  the  Church  itself,  and 
even  among  the  chief  apostles,  was  the  necessity  of 
the  peace-maker's  office  indicated,  and  how  often  in 
the  subsequent  history  of  the  Church  has  there  been 
need  for  its  exercise!  Indeed,  when  we  inquire  into 
the  causes  of  the  slow  progress  of  Christianity  in  the 
earth,  few  more  significant  reasons  can  be  given  than 
that  the  Church  has  too  often  been  like  "a  house 
divided  against  itself,"  wasting  by  internal  strife  en- 
ergies that  ought  to  have  been  united  and  acting 
together  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world.  Even 
now,  when  persecution  for  opinion's  sake  is  almost 
unknown,  when  general  charity  prevails,  and  great 
progress  has  been  made  toward  the  unity  of  Chris- 
tian sentiment,  the  moral  power  of  the  Church  is 
greatly  weakened  by  a  too  common  lack  of  warm  and 
practical  brotherly  love.  In  how  many  thousands  of 
nominally  Christian  communities  petty  quarrels  exist, 


298  THE  PASTOR  AS  A  PEACE-MAKER. 

not  only  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  parties  them- 
selves, but  of  their  mutual  friends !  In  how  many 
Churches  secret  or  open  antipathies  are  fostered, 
in  how  many  bosoms  resentments  are  nourished 
and  constantly  in  danger  of  breaking  forth  to  do 
the  evil  without  which  they  are  secretly  working 
within ! 

In  order  to  exert  the  influence  of  a  peace-maker 
an  individual  must  himself  cultivate  the  purest  char- 
ity toward  all  men.  He  must  be  an  example  of  the 
indwelling  power  of  that  peace  which  passeth  all  un- 
derstanding. How  weighty,  then,  will  be  his  words, 
how  influential  his  conduct !  How  effectually  will  he 
be  able  to  cast  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters  of  strife ! 
With  what  sweetness  and  gentleness  will  he  be  en- 
abled to  assuage  the  acerbities  of  passion,  and  to 
bring  conflicting  elements  into  harmony!  Especially 
will  the  peace-maker  be  solicitous  to  prevent  the 
beginnings  of  strife,  which  are  as  the  letting  out  of 
waters.  Before  the  harsh  word  is  said,  before  the 
rash  act  is  committed,  he  will,  if  possible,  bring 
kindly  influences  to  bear  and  effect  reconciliation. 

On  Christian  pastors,  in  an  eminent  sense,  does 
the  responsibility  rest  of  cultivating  the  qualities  and 
performing  the  duties  of  the  peace-maker.  Of  what 
small  avail  will  be  learning  and  eloquence  in  the 
pulpit,  and  how  will  the  power  of  Christian  truth  be 
neutralized  before  the  world,  if  jarrings  arid  strife 
divide  the  Church!  How  will  the  ways  of  Zion  be 
made  to  mourn  if,  on  account  of  mutual  dislike  or 
jealousy,  few  come  to  her  solemn  feasts !  How  will 
the  best  energies  of  the  Church  be  paralyzed  if,  on 


WISE  PRECAUTIONS.  299 

any  pretext,  internal  feuds  are  allowed  to  prey  upon 
her  peace! 

Not  only  from  prudential  motives,  but  from  the 
authority  which  God  has  given  him,  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  overseer  of  the  flock  to  endeavor,  by  all  possible 
means,  to  remove  all  such  stumbling-blocks.  The 
task  will  often  demand  his  highest  wisdom  and  his 
most  prayerful  and  persevering  energy.  To  have  any 
well-grounded  hope  of  accomplishing  it,  it  will  be 
essential  that  he  avoid  all  partisan  feeling  himself. 
He  must  rise  to  the  position  of  a  just  and  impartial 
arbitrator.  He  must  know  how  to  address  men,  and 
be  able  to  command  their  respect  as  well.  He  must 
know  how  to  appeal  to  the  conscience  without  excit- 
ing opposition  and  prejudice.  Especially  must  he  be 
able  to  induce  all  parties  to  make  concessions  when 
necessary — and,  if  need  be,  confessions — for  the  sake 
of  the  cause  and  body  of  Christ.  To  accomplish 
these  results  will  often  require  the  ^sacrifice  of  time 
and  convenience,  and  the  exercise  of  much  patience. 
But  these  are  small  offerings  to  be  laid  on  the  shrine 
of  peace — small  efforts,  and  hardly  to  be  named  in 
comparison  with  the  blessedness  of  the  peace-maker. 

While  the  timely  efforts  and  kindly  influence  of  a 
good  pastor,  coupled  with  the  appropriate  church  disci- 
co-operation  he  may  often  secure,  will  p^'"^- 
forestall  many  evils  and  heal  many  breaches,  yet  so 
long  as  "it  must  needs  be  that  offenses  come"  there 
will  sometimes  arise  occasions  for  Church  discipline 
in  the  form  of  arbitrations.  Church  trials,  censure, 
suspension,  and  expulsion.  In  all  such  proceedings 
a  pastor  s  duties  are  both  responsible  and  critical.    In 


300  ADMINISTRATION  OF  DISCIPLINE. 

order  to  their  appropriate  discharge  he  should  under- 
stand well  the  principles  of  discipline  and  judicature 
which  are  recognized  in  the  laws  and  usages  of  the 
Church.  He  should  also  be  careful  to  take  all  appro- 
priate steps  with  the  mildness  and  firmness  which 
pure  motives  and  a  sense  of  great  responsibility  ought 
always  to  prompt. 

If  from  the  law  applicable  to  any  case,  or  the 
authorized  comments  on  such  law,  the  young  pastor 
can  not  determine  what  steps  he  ought  to  take,  let 
him  have  recourse  to  the  advice  of  his  presiding  elder 
or  bishop,  or  both,  so  as  to  proceed  at  once  legally 
and  prudently.  In  addition  to  acquiring  an  intelligent 
conception  of  what  he  ought  to  do,  the  pastor  should 
maintain  an  unquestionable  irfipartiality,  coupled  with 
such  a  supreme  regard  for  the  purity  of  the  Church 
as  will  deprive  of  its  sting  any  act  of  severity  which, 
as  an  executive  officer,  it  may  be  his  duty  to  perform. 
Especially  in  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  expulsion  of 
a  member  of  the  Church,  both  the  manner  and  the 
spirit  in  which  the  act  is  performed  should  demon- 
strate love  to  the  offender,  however  the  offense  may 
demand  public  reprehension. 

Even  the  official  act  of  dismissing  members  of  the 
Church  by  certificates  is  not  without  its 
responsibilities.  Members  in  good  stand- 
ing about  to  remove  have  the  right  to  demand  letters 
certifying  their  membership  and  according  them  to 
other  Churches.  But  the  issue  of  such  letters  is 
always  in  the  implied  expectation  that  they  will  be 
presented  when  opportunity  is  secured.  Nevertheless, 
members  have  the  power  to  withhold  their  certificates 


PERSONAL  INTRODUCTIONS.  30 1 

from  presentation,  a  power  which  is  often  used  to 
their  great  spiritual  injury.  The  non-presentation  of 
a  Church  letter  is  practically  equivalent  to  a  with- 
drawal from  the  Church,  which,  though  far  from  the 
possessor's  original  intention,  is  nevertheless  often 
accomplished  by  delay.  While  it  is  not  necessary — 
except  on  the  ground  of  moral  and  spiritual  motives — 
to  deny  the  right  of  withdrawal  in  this  form,  yet  it 
may  often  be  within  a  pastor's  power  to  prevent  it. 
He  should  not,  therefore,  issue  certificates  in  a  formal 
or  indifferent  manner,  but,  while  complying  with  the 
requisition,  should  endeavor  to  impress  upon  the  re- 
moving members  the  importance  of  promptness  in 
making  themselves  known  as  Christians  in  the  places 
to  which  they  remove.  He  should  point  out  to  them 
the  possible  embarrassments  to  which  they  may  be 
subject  on  arriving  among  strangers,  together  with 
the  great  desirability  of  seeking  Christian  sympathy 
and  fellowship  at  the  earliest  moment.  To  make  this 
course  not  only  practicable,  but  easy,  he  should  often 
superadd  letters  of  personal  introduction  to  the  pastor 
within  whose  bounds  they  expect  to  remove.  Cor- 
responding to  this,  when  practicable,  he  should,  in 
accordance  with  the  rule  of  Discipline,  notify  the 
pastor  of  the  Church  to  which  they  propose  remov- 
ing of  the  intended  removal  and  the  certificate  given. 
No  statistics  can  ever  determine  the  numbers  of 
persons  who  have  lost  their  Church  standing  and 
lapsed  from  a  Christian  profession  through  the  un- 
friendly influences  incident  to  the  frequent  removals 
of  American  population.  The  corresponding  loss  to 
the  Church  is  known  to  have  been  great,  and  for  the 


302  ATTENTION  TO  STRANGERS. 

past  irremediable.  But  it  is  believed  that  much  may 
be  done  to  guard  against  such  evils  hereafter.  To 
this  end  not  only  let  the  precautions  above  suggested 
be  observed,  but  let  pastors  every-where  be  on  the 
alert  personally  and  by  the  aid  of  active  committees 
to  find  and  to  welcome  Church  members  who  may 
remove  within  their  bounds.  Nor  should  they  confine 
their  attentions  merely  to  Church  members,  but  make 
it  a  rule  to  extend  them  to  all  new-comers  and  stran- 
gers, inviting  their  attendance  upon  public  worship, 
and  their  participation  in  the  religious  and  social  priv- 
ileges of  the  community.  It  is  only  by  diligence  in 
duties  of  this  kind  that  the  spirit  and  precepts  of 
Christianity  can  be  fully  illustrated.  Our  Savior  him- 
self, in  his  discourse  on  the  last  judgment,*  sets  forth 
the  duty  of  welcoming  strangers  in  a  most  impressive 
manner.  The  apostle  Paul  also  enjoins  the  same  duty 
both  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  and  in  thai  to  the 
Hebrews.! 

The  rendering  of  both  passages  in  our  common 
version,  viz.,  "given  to  hospitality,"  and  "be  not  un- 
mindful to  entertain  strangers,"  falls  below  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  original,  and  the  modern  limitation 
of  the  words  "hospitality"  and  "entertain,"  still  fur- 
ther narrows  down  the  general  comprehension  of  these 
inspired  precepts.  The  Greek  word  used  in  both  cases 
is  <pih)^£)^ia,  "  love  of  strangers."  When  a  true.  Chris- 
tian "  love  of  strangers  "  is  manifested  both  by  pastors 
and  people,  it  becomes  a  great  agency  of  winning 
souls,  and  of  building  up  the  Church. 

*  Matt.  XXV,  35.  t  Rom.  xii,  14.     Heb.  xiii,  2, 


A   DIVINE  APPOINTMENT.  303 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RELATIONS   AND   DUTIES    OF  A    CHURCH   TO   ITS 
PASTOR. 

IN  immediate  connection  with  the  foregoing  discus- 
sion of  a  pastor's  duties  to  his  Church,  it  seems 
proper  to  consider  briefly  the  reciprocal  relation  of 
the  Church  to  its  pastor.  A  good  pastorate  being 
essential  to  the  prosperity  of  a  Church,  the  Church, 
on  its  part,  is  under  obligation  to  contribute,  in  all 
practicable  ways,  to  promote  the  success  and  effi- 
ciency of  its  pastor. 

The  Scriptures  clearly  indicate  the  ministry  to  be 
the  gift  of  God  to  the  Church — a  divine  appointment 
for  its  edification  and  improvement,  "for  the  perfect- 
ing of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for 
the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ:  till  we  all  come 
in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ."  Eph.  iv,  12,  13. 
In  this  view  Christian  Churches  collectively,  and  their 
members  in  particular,  should  be  on  the  alert  to  de- 
rive from  their  pastor  the  largest  possible  measure  of 
spiritual  profit.  The  Scriptures,  moreover,  are  not 
lacking  in  indications  of  the  various  modes  by  which 
these   results   may  be   obtained.     At   least  in  spirit 


304  WELCOME, 

they  enjoin  upon  Churches  and  Church  members  the 
following  several  duties  toward  their  pastors: 

I .  To  receive  them  gladly  and  welcome  them  cordially. 
The  Savior  himself  taught  this  duty  in  an  emphatic 
manner.  "  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  me  ;  and 
he  that  receiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent  me.  He 
that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a  prophet  shall 
receive  a  prophet's  reward  ;  and  he  that  receiveth  a 
righteous  man  in  the  name  of  a  righteous  man  shall 
receive  a  righteous  man's  reward.  And  whosoever 
shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of  these  little  ones  a  cup 
of  cold  water  only  in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  verily  I 
say  unto  you,  he  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  reward." 
Matt.  X,  40-42.  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He 
that  receiveth  whomsoever  I  send  receiveth  me  ;  and 
he  that  receiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent  me." 
John  xiii,  20.  The  apostle  Paul  claimed  it  for  him- 
self and  for  his  helpers  in  the  ministry :  "  Receive  us 
{'^wpTjfTars:  Tjiiaq^  wclcomc  US,  rcccivc  US  to  a  large  place 
in  your  hearts  and  affections) ;  we  have  wronged  no 
man,  we  have  corrupted  no  man,  we  have  defrauded 
no  man,  .  .  .  for  I  have  said  before  that  ye  are 
in  our  hearts  to  die  and  live  with  you."  2  Cor.  vii,  2. 
A  further  reference  is  made  to  the  same  subject  in 
the  13th  verse:  "Therefore  we  were  comforted  in 
your  comfort :  yea,  and  exceedingly  the  more  joyed 
we  for  the  joy  of  Titus,  because  his  spirit  was  re- 
freshed by  you  all."  In  sending  Epaphroditus  to  the 
Philippians,  the  same  apostle  exhorts  them :  "  Re- 
ceive him  in  the  Lord  with  all  gladness  ;  and  hold 
such  in  reputation."  Phil,  ii,  29.  Writing  to  the 
Corinthians  he  says :   "  I  am  glad  of  the  coming  of 


APOSTOLIC  PRECEPTS.  305 

Stephanas  and  Fortunatus  and  Achaicus :  for  that 
which  was  lacking  on  your  part  they  have  sup- 
plied. For  they  have  refreshed  my  spirit  and  yours : 
therefore  acknowledge  ye  them  that  are  such."  i 
Cor.  xvi,  17,  18. 

The  example  of  Paul  in  these  and  various  kindred 
passages   also   indicates    the   duty   of  ministers,   and 
particularly  of   senior    ministers,   to    inculcate    upon 
Churches   the   obligations   which   they  owe    to   their 
pastors   and   those  who   labor  among  them   in  word 
and  doctrine.     This  primary  duty  of  the  hospitable 
and  cordial  reception  of  a  pastor  is  of  great  impor- 
tance, as  tending  to  cheer  the  heart  of  a  stranger,  and 
impart  to  him   hope  and  energy,  when  an  opposite 
course  might  cause  him  pain  and  intense  embarrass- 
ment.    Such  receptions  appear  to  have  been  referred 
to  when  the  apostle  says,  with  reference  to  Ephesus, 
"a  great   and    effectual   door  is   opened    unto    me;" 
and  also  "  when   I   came  to  Troas  to  preach  Christ's 
gospel,   a  door  was   opened   unto  me  of   the   Lord." 
2  Cor.  ii,  12.     No  one,  therefore,  who  loves  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  would  desire  to  facilitate  the  spread 
of  his  gospel  in  any  community  in  which  he  dwells, 
should  be  indifferent  to  the  kind  reception  of  a  Chris- 
tian pastor.     Words  of  welcome   and  expressions  of 
hope  come  gracefully  from  the  humblest  member  of 
the  Church,  and  will  not  be  without  an  encouraging 
effect;  whereas  distance,  formality,  and  reserve  are 
chilling  and  repulsive.      But  kind  receptions  do  not 
exhaust  themselves  in  words.     Rather  they  abound 
in  acts  of  kindness  and  friendly  assistance,  which  aid 
the  pastor  in  becoming  promptly  settled  in  his  new 


26 


306  ATTENTIVE  HEARING. 

home  and  speedily  acquainted  with  the  members  of 
his  congregation. 

2.  It  is  the  duty  of  Churches  and  Church  members  to 
hear  their  pastors  attentively  and  reverently.  A  great 
wrong  is  done  when,  through  partiality  to  former  pas- 
tors, prejudice,  or  indifference  of  any  kind,  a  willing  ear 
is  withheld  from  a  messenger  of  the  Lord.  "  Faith 
Cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  the 
Lord."  Rom.  x,  17.  To  have  "ears  dull  of  hearing" 
is  both  a  calamity  and  a  sin.*  "  He  that  turneth  away 
his  ear  from  hearing  the  law,  even  his  prayer  shall  be 
abomination."  Prov.  xxviii,  9.  Thus  it  may  be  seen 
that  inattention  or  an  indisposition  to  hear  on  the  part 
of  the  people  may  at  once  place  it  out  of  the  power 
of  a  minister  to  do  them  good,  and  inflict  upon  them- 
selves serious  moral  injury.  Besides,  bad  example  in 
this  respect  becomes  contagious,  and  tends  to  stop  the 
ears  of  a  community,  not  only  against  a  minister, 
but  against  God's  messages  of  truth.  Witness  the 
Savior's  words  :  "  He  that  heareth  you  heareth  me ; 
and  he  that  despiseth  you  despiseth  me  ;  and  he  that 
despiseth  me  despiseth  him  that  sent  me."  Luke  x, 
16.  No  true  minister  of  Christ  would  value,  even  if 
he  accepted,  attentions  shown  to  him  personally,  but 
withheld  from  him  in  the  character  of  a  messenger  of 
Christ.  The  most  valued  welcome,  therefore,  a  min- 
ister can  receive  is  from  numerous  and  attentive  audi- 
tors, who  gladly  receive  the  word  of  truth  in  the  name 
and  for  the  sake  of  his  divine  Master.  If  it  should 
happen  that  from  youth  or  diffidence,  or  some  other 
cause,  a  pastor  should  be  in  danger  of  making  himself 

*  Matt,  xiii,  15  ;  Acts  xxviii,  27. 


SUPPORT.  307 

less  impressive  or  influential  than  might  be  desired,  it 
is  at  this  point  that  stronger  effort  should  be  put  forth 
as  a  means  of  guarding  the  interests  of  the  Church 
and  increasing  the  usefulness  of  one  who  is  charged 
with  leadership  in  the  Church.  Observe  with  what 
consideration  the  apostle  Paul  bespoke  for  Timothy 
the  encouragement  of  the  Church  of  Corinth  :  "  Now 
if  Timotheus  come,  see  that  he  may  be  with  you  with- 
out fear ;  for  he  worketh  the  work  of  the  Lord  as  I 
also  do.  Let  no  man,  therefore,  despise  him."  i  Cor. 
xvi,  10,  1 1.  This  language  was  evidently  based  on  the 
youthfulness  and  comparative  inexperience  of  Timo- 
thy, and  may  be  considered  an  authoritative  plea  in 
behalf  of  all  young  ministers  to  whomsoever  they 
may  be  sent. 

3.  It  is  the  duty  of  Churches  to  sustain  their  pastors 
generously.     This  is  not  only  true  of  moral,  but  of  ma- 
terial support.     Christ  says,  "  The  laborer  is  worthy 
of   his   hire;"    and   Paul   exhorts,   "Let    him   that   is 
taught  in  the  word  communicate  unto  him  that  teach- 
eth  in  all  good  things."     Gal.  vi,  6.     He  also  asserts, 
''Even  so  hath  the  Lord   ordained  that  they  which 
preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel."      i  Cor. 
ix,  14.     What  is  wanted  in  Christian  Churches  at  the 
present  time  is  not  so  much  a  theoretical  admission 
of  the  authority  of  these  precepts  as  of  liberality  and 
practicalness  in  their  application  to  the  actual  circum- 
stances of  ministers.     In  a  Church  in  which  ministers 
carry  the  voluntary  principle  to  the  extent  of  discard- 
ing all  stipulations   as   to   salary,   leaving  the  whole 
matter  of  their  support  to  the  justice  and  generosity 
of  their  brethren  of  the  laity  in  the  several  charges, 


308  GENEROUS  CONFIDENCE. 

they  have  a  right  to  expect  that  their  reasonable 
wants  will  be  well  and  fully  provided  for.  Hence  it 
may  be  said,  that  Churches,  by  their  appropriate  com- 
mittees, should  estimate  liberally  and  pay  promptly 
the  salaries  of  their  pastors.  Great  injustice  is  often 
done  by  inattention  to  this  matter.  Pastors  are  not 
only  embarrassed  and  straitened  by  the  withholding 
of  what  is  their  due,  but  they  are  actually  incapaci- 
tated for  the  degree  of  usefulness  they  might  attain  if 
relieved  from  temporal  embarrassment  and  apprehen- 
sion of  pecuniary  trouble.  Without  discussing  this 
subject  at  length,  it  may  be  summarily  said  that,  in 
estimating  for  the  support  of  their  pastors.  Churches 
should  consider,  not  only  their  material,  but  also 
their  intellectual  necessities,  and  give  them  the 
means  of  constant  mental  and  literary  improvement. 
Especially  for  an  itinerant  ministry  should  suitable 
parsonages  or  pastoral  residences  be  provided,  and  sup- 
plied with  heavy  furniture.  Besides,  in  all  Churches, 
when  it  is  practicable,  pastors'  libraries  should  be  es- 
tablished, in  which  as  many  good  books  as  possible 
should  be  provided  and  kept  for  the  joint  use  of  pas- 
tors and  Sunday-school  teachers.  The  advantages  of 
such  a  library  can  hardly  be  overestimated,  especially 
if  well  stocked  with  standard  books  of  reference  in  re- 
gard to  theology  and  biblical  literature.  Even  where 
Churches  have  no  superabundance  of  means,  and  find 
some  difficulties  in  meeting  all  their  other  obligations, 
individuals  are  sometimes  found  who  would  take  a 
peculiar  and  personal  interest  in  establishing,  recruit- 
ing, or  endowing  libraries  of  this  kind,  and  pastors 
should  be  on  the  alert  to  find  and  encourage  them  in 


PRAYER.  309 

acts  of  beneficence  adapted  to  their  special  tastes  or 
views  of  obligation. 

4.  Churches  a7id  Church  members  should  love  their 
pastors  sincerely,  and  pray  for  them  cottstantly  a7td  fer- 
vently. The  first  branch  of  this  duty  is  urgently  en- 
joined by  the  apostle  Paul.  "  And  we  beseech  you, 
brethren,  to  know  them  which  labor  among  you,  and 
are  over  you  in  the  Lord,  and  admonish  you  ;  and  to 
esteem  them  very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's  sake. 
And  be  at  peace  among  yourselves."  i  Thess.  v,  12, 
13.  It  is  also  enjoined  by  all  those  precepts  which 
commend  mutual  love  and  affection  as  between  Chris- 
tian brethren,  among  whom  ministers  are  ever  repre- 
sented as  holding  the  chief  place. 

The  duty  of  special  prayer  for  ministers  is  indicated  • 
by  the  example  of  the  early  Church,  and  also  by  re- 
peated solicitations  addressed  by  the  apostles  to  the 
Churches  to  ofier  supplications  in  their  behalf  When 
Peter  was  put  in  prison,  under  guard  of  four  quater- 
nions of  soldiers,  "  prayer  was  made  without  ceasing 
of  the  Church  unto  God  for  him."  The  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles  not  once  only,  but  repeatedly,  exhorted  those 
to  whom  his  epistles  were  addressed  in  reference  to 
this  matter.  "Brethren,  pray  for  us."  i  Thess.  v, 
25.  **  Finally,  brethren,  pray  for  us,  that  the  word  of 
the  Lord  may  have  free  course,  and  be  glorified,  even 
as  it  is  with  you."  2  Thess.  iii,  i.  "Continue  in 
prayer,  and  watch  in  the  same  with  thanksgiving; 
withal  praying  also  for  us,  that  God  would  open  unto 
us  a  door  of  utterance,  to  speak  the  mystery  of  Christ, 
for  which  I  am  also  in  bonds :  that  I  may  make  it 
manifest,  as  I  ought  to  speak."     Col.  iv,  2-4. 


3IO  OBE'DIENCE. 

Again :  "  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  for  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  for  the  love  of  the  Spirit, 
that  ye  strive  together  with  me  in  your  prayers  to  God 
for  me."  Rom.  xv,  30.  "  Praying  always, 
and  for  me,  that  utterance  may  be  given  unto  me,  that 
I  may  open  my  mouth  boldly,  to  make  known  the 
mystery  of  the  gospel."  Eph.  vi,  18-20.  Indeed, 
there  is  hardly  an  epistle  without  a  request  of  this 
kind  ;  e.  g.,  "  Ye  also  helping  together  by  prayer  for 
us."  2  Cor.  i,  II.  "Praying  also  for  us  that  God 
would  open  unto  us  a  door  of  utterance  to  speak  the 
mystery  of  Christ."  Col.  iv,  3.  These  requests  of 
the  inspired  apostles,  recorded  in  epistles  designed  to 
serve  as  a  directory  for  the  Church  in  all  subsequent 
ages,  have  the  full  force  of  precepts,  and  should  conse- 
quently challenge  the  attention  and  govern  the  habits 
of  Christians  and  Churches  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

5.  Churches  should  recognize  and  sustain  the  spiritual 
authority  of  their  pastors  by  a  cheerful  obedience  to  their 
scriptural  precepts  and  pious  admonitions.  Obedience 
is  not  a  favorite  duty  of  modern  times,  and  yet  mod- 
ern intelligence  can  not  fail  to  perceive  that  obedience 
to  parents,  to  magistrates,  and  to  military  command- 
ers is  as  essential  now  as  it  has  ever  been.  Christians 
especially  will  do  well  to  take  heed  to  the  teachings 
of  Scripture  in  reference  to  this  subject.  A  passage 
in  Hebrews  sets  forth  at  once  the  duty  and  the  object. 
"  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit 
yourselves  :  for  they  watch  for  your  souls,  as  they  that 
must  give  account,  that  they  may  do  it  with  joy,  and 
not  with  grief:  for  that  is  unprofitable  for  you."  Heb. 
xiii,  17.     The  Church  at  Rome  is  praised  for  this  obe- 


THE   SWORD   OF   THE  SPIRIT.  31I 

dience:  "But  God  be  thanked,  that  ye  have  obeyed 
from  the  heart  that  form  of  doctrine  which  was  de- 
livered unto  you."  Rom.  vi,  17.  "For  your  obedi- 
ence is  come  abroad  unto  all  men."  xvi,  19.  Paul 
and  Titus  rejoice  together  over  the  same  grace  in  the 
Church  in  Corinth  :  "  Yea,  and  exceedingly  the  more 
joyed  we  for  the  joy  of  Titus,  because  his  spirit  was 
refreshed  by  you  all.  And  his  inward  affection  is 
more  abundant  toward  you,  whilst  he  remembered  the 
obedience  of  you  all,  how  with  fear  and  trembling  ye 
received  him."     2  Cor.  vii,  13,  15. 

The  Galatians  are  reproved  for  the  lack  of  the  same 
thing :  "  O  foolish  Galatians,  who  hath  bewitched  you, 
that  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth."  iii,  i.  In  sim- 
ilar terms  the  apostle  addresses  the  Thessalonians : 
"  If  any  man  obey  not  our  word  by  this  epistle,  note 
that  rnan,  and  have  no  company  with  him,  that  he 
may  be  ashamed."  2  Thess.  iii,  14.  To  the  same  he 
says :  "  We  have  confidence  in  the  Lord  touching  you, 
that  ye  both  do  and  will  do  the  things  which  we  com- 
mand you.  Now  we  command  you,  brethren,  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  withdraw 
yourselves  from  every  brother  that  walketh  disor- 
derly, and  not  after  the  tradition  which  he  received 
of  us."  iii,  4,  6.  Such  authority  is  not  confined  to 
apostles.  To  Timothy,  the  apostle  says :  "  These 
things  command  and  teach."      i  Tim.  iv,  11. 

It  is  because  they  are  intrusted  with  the  Word  of 
God  that  pastors  are  set  with  authority  to  command 
obedience.  Magistrates  bear  the  sword  as  the  em- 
blem of  their  authority  and  the  instrument  of  execu- 
tion.    Into  the  hands  of  the  pastor  is  put  "  the  sword 


312  REPUTATION. 

of  the  Spirit,  the  Word  of  God."  "  The  Word  of  God 
is  quick  and  powerful,  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword."  It  is  that  word  of  the  gospel  which  Christians 
are  to  obey.  Ministers  also  should  remember  that, 
although  intrusted  with  the  grave  responsibility  of 
bearing  and  enforcing  the  word  and  will  of  God,  they 
must  discharge  their  duties  with  that  meekness  and 
humility  which  will  challenge  the  love  and  approba-* 
tion  of  their  brethren,  not  "  as  being  lords  over  God's 
heritage,  but  being  ensamples  to  the  flock."  i  Pet. 
v,  3.  "  Not  that  we  have  dominion  over  your  faith, 
but  are  helpers  of  your  joy."     2  Cor.  i,  24. 

6.  Churches  should  honor  their  pastors  and  guard 
their  reputation  as  a  part  of  their  owft.  The  true  dig- 
nity and  the  highest  usefulness  of  the  pastoral  office 
never  appear  where  members  of  the  Church  are  on 
the  alert  to  discover  foibles  in  the  character  or  con- 
duct of  a  pastor,  but  only  where,  with  charity  for  his 
weaknesses  and  infirmities,  there  is  a  disposition  to 
hold  him  in  honor  for  his  office  and  his  work's  sake. 
This  sentiment  will  cause  good  people  to  guard 
against  the  reckless  and  objectionable  criticism,  not 
to  say  fault-finding,  which  it  is  the  tendency  of  some 
to  indulge  against  ministers.  Nevertheless,  it  is  com- 
patible with  Christian  faithfulness  in  communicating 
to  pastors,  at  proper  times  and  in  a  kind  way,  what- 
ever faults  or  mistakes  seem  to  hinder  their  usefulness, 
or  well-considered  suggestions  as  to  any  manner  in 
which  they  may  do  more  good.  The  rule  of  what  is 
commendable  and  dutiful  in  a  Christian  Church  is 
thus  stated  by  Paul :  **  Let  the  elders  that  rule  well 
be  counted  worthy  of  double  honor,  especially  they 


BLENDED   INTERESTS.  313 

who  labor  in  word  and  doctrine."  i  Tim.  v,  17. 
"  Remember  them  which  have  the  rule  over  you,  who 
have  spoken  unto  you  the  word  of  God  :  whose  faith 
follow,  considering  the  end  of  their  conversation." 
Heb.  xiii,  7.  The  honor  here  recommended  is  ren- 
dered by  a  cheerful  compliance  with  the  several  duties 
heretofore  enumerated,  also  by  Christians  taking  all 
fit  occasions  to  speak  well  of  their  pastor,  and  using 
appropriate  efforts  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  influ- 
ence, by  bringing  hearers  to  his  ministry,  and  prepar- 
ing for  him  a  favorable  reception  from  those  whom  he 
would  win  to  the  fold  of  Christ.  It  is  possible  for 
Churches,  even  those  which  are  large  and  rich,  to 
restrict  and  belittle  their  own  influence  by  indiffer- 
ence to  the  honor  of  their  pastor ;  whereas  other 
Churches,  of  perhaps  less  opportunity,  promote  their 
own  honor  and  usefulness  by  honoring  their  pastors 
as  the  servants  of  God  with  a  generous  support.  The 
old  motto,  "  Respect  yourself  if  you  would  be  re- 
spected," is  applicable  here  ;  also  the  apostolic  remark, 
"  No  man  ever  yet  hated  his  own  flesh,  but  nourisheth 
and  cherisheth  it  even  as  the  Lord  the  Church,  for  we 
are  members  of  his  body."  Eph.  v,  28,  29.  The  idea 
of  the  Church  as  a  visible  organic  body  places  the 
pastor  at  the  head,  and  while  "  they  are  many  mem- 
bers, yet  but  one  body :  the  eye  can  not  say  unto  the 
hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee  :  nor  again  the  head  to 
the  feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you."  i  Cor.  xii,  20,  21. 
Still  less  can  the  other  members  of  the  body  say  to 
the  head,  we  have  no  need  of  thee.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  welfare  of  the  whole  body  is  promoted  by 
the   members   severally  rendering  "honor   to  whom 

27 


314 


CO-OPERATION. 


honor  is  due,"  and  in  *'  honor  preferring  one  another." 
But  the  empty  honor  of  applause  or  commendation 
is  with  a  Christian  pastor  nothing,  and  less  than 
nothing,  unless  his  divine  Master  is  honored  through 
the  joint  instrumentality  of  himself  and  the  Church. 
Hence  he  is  chiefly  anxious  about  what  follows. 

7.  //  is  the  duty  of  Christian  Chtirches  to  co-operate 
with  their  pastors  earnestly ^  unitedly,  and  efficiently  in 
promoting  the  work  of  the  Lord.  This  is,  in  fact,  the 
great  object  of  Church  organization,  and  so  many  of 
the  precepts  and  teachings  with  which  the  inspired 
epistles  abound  point  directly  to  this  agency  of  pro- 
moting the  salvation  of  men  and  the  glory  of  God 
that  but  few  examples  need  be  given :  "  If  ye  then  be 
risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are  above, 
where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  Set 
your  affection  on  things  above,  not  on  things  on  the 
earth.  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in 
all  wisdom  ;  teaching  and  admonishing  one  another  in 
psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  with 
grace  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord."  Col.  iii,  i,  2,  16. 
"Walk  in  wisdom  toward  them  that  are  without,  re- 
deeming the  time.  Let  your  speech  be  always  with 
grace,  seasoned  with  salt,  that  ye  may  know  how  ye 
ought  to  answer  every  man."  iv,  5,  6.  "We  give 
thanks  to  God  always  for  you  all,  making  mention 
of  you  in  our  prayers ;  remembering  without  ceasing 
your  work  of  faith,  and  labor  of  love,  and  patience  of 
hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  sight  of  God 
and  our  Father ;  ye  were  ensamples  to  all  that  believe 
in  Macedonia  and  Achaia.  For  from  you  sounded 
out  the  word  of  the  Lord  not  only  in  Macedonia  and 


^  VMFA  THE  TIC  A  TTENTION.  3 1 5 

Achaia,  but  also  in  every  place  your  faith  to  Godward 
is  spread  abroad."  i  Thess.  i,  2,  3,  7,  8.  "Now  we 
exhort  you,  brethren,  warn  them  that  are  unruly,  com- 
fort the  feeble-minded,  support  the  weak,  be  patient 
toward  all  men.  See  that  none  render  evil  for  evil 
unto  any  man ;  but  ever  follow  that  which  is  good, 
both  among  yourselves,  and  to  all  men."  v,  14,  15. 
Here  are  the  rules  of  conduct  for  Christian  Churches 
and  believers  to  the  end  of  time,  and  happy  are  the 
pastors  whose  hearts  are  comforted  and  whose  hands 
are  held  up  by  the  faithful  co-operation  of  Churches 
actively  and  wholly  consecrated  to  the  divine  service. 
8.  It  is  the  dtUy  of  Chiuxhes  to  comfort  their  pastors 
when  in  affliction,  and  to  dismiss  them  ki7idly  when 
they  go  to  other  fields  of  labor.  This  duty  may  be 
enjoined  on  the  ground  of  respect,  of  sympathy,  and 
of  gratitude  for  services  rendered.  Ministers  of  the 
gospel  are  subject  to  sickness  and  sorrows,  like  other 
men,  and,  having  devoted  their  energies  to  promoting 
the  welfare  of  others  and  spent  their  strength  in  vis- 
iting the  sick  and  consoling  the  afflicted,  it  would  be 
sad  indeed  if,  when  their  hour  of  trial  came,  they 
should  lack  friends  to  succor  and  comfort  them.  The 
apostles,  who  approved  themselves  as  ministers  of 
God  in  the  peculiar  trials  of  their  times,  **in  much 
patience,  in  afflictions,  in  necessities,  in  distresses,  in 
stripes,  in  imprisonments,  in  tumults,  in  labors,  in 
watchings,  in  fastings,"  yet  showed  their  need  and 
their  high  appreciation  of  Christian  sympathy.  Paul 
writes  to  the  Philippians :  "  But  I  rejoiced  in  the  Lord 
greatly,  that  now  at  the  last  your  care  of  me  hath 
flourished  again ;  wherein  ye  were  also  careful,  but  ye 


3l6  A   WANT  OF  THE  SOUL, 

lacked  opportunity.  Not  that  I  speak  in  respect  of 
want:  for  I  have  learned,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am, 
therewith  to  be  content.  I  know  both  how  to  be 
abased,  and  I  know  how  to  abound:  every-where  and 
in  all  things  I  am  instructed  both  to  be  full  and  to 
be  hungry,  both  to  abound  and  to  suffer  need.  I  can 
do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me. 
Notwithstanding,  ye  have  well  done,  that  ye  did  com- 
municate with  my  affliction."  Phil,  iv,  10-14.  ^*If 
there  be  therefore  any  consolation  in  Christ,  if  any 
comfort  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of  the  Spirit,  if  any 
bowels  and  mercies,  fulfill  ye  my  joy,  that  ye  be  like- 
minded,  having  the  same  love,  being  of  one  accord, 
of  one  mind."     ii,  i,  2. 

Predominant  in  Paul's  epistles  is  his  anxiety  for 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Churches.  While  his  self- 
forgetfulness  was  so  great  that  his  very  life  seemed 
to  depend  on  the  steadfastness  of  his  spiritual  chil- 
dren, yet  he  could  feel  keenly  the  pangs  of  desertion. 
When  at  Rome  in  his  last  trial  no  man  stood  with 
him,  but  all  men  forsook  him,  and,  although  the  Lord 
stood  with  him  and  strengthened  him,  still  he  felt  the 
need  of  sympathy  and  aid  from  Timothy,  his  own  son 
in  the  gospel,  to  whom  he  wrote,  "Do  thy  diligence 
to  come  shortly  unto  me."  2  Tim.  iv,  9.  The  duty 
here  referred  to  should  be  exemplified  in  systematic 
liberality  to  all  aged  and  afflicted  ministers  and  their 
families.  Until  that  is  done,  unnecessary  privations 
and  sorrows  are  imposed  on  those  who  give  their 
lives  to  the  service  of  the  Church. 

Irrespective  of  old  age  and  personal  affliction,  the 
exercise   of   consideration   and    kindness   to   retiring 


PREPARING    THE  WAY  FOR  SUCCESSORS.       317 

pastors  is  incumbent  upon  every  Church.  Whether 
a  minister  leaves  a  Church  in  the  routine  of  a  regular 
system  or  for  other  causes,  there  is  neither  propriety 
nor  religion  in  a  cold  and  unfeeling  dismissal.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  removal  of  a  pastor  should  be  an 
occasion  of  the  kindliest  sympathies  and  the  exercises 
of  those  acts  of  friendship  which  will  endear  mutual 
recollection  and  make  future  meetings  in  this  world 
and  the  next  a  subject  of  pleasant  anticipation.  A 
system  of  regular  and  periodical  pastoral  changes 
greatly  favors  such  a  result,  and  is  happily  free  from 
those  disturbing  causes  which  so  often  disrupt  pas- 
toral relations  supposed  to  have  been  settled  for  life. 
It  is  therefore  incumbent  on  those  pastors  who 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  an  approved  system  of  rota- 
tion in  their  ministerial  service  to  prepare  the  way 
for  each  other.  The  close  of  a  pastoral  term  is  a 
fitting  and  favorable  occasion  in  which  the  retiring 
pastor  may  not  only  prepare  the  way  for  his  suc- 
cessor, but  disinterestedly  instruct  the  Church  in  its 
relations  to  the  pastoral  office,  and  its  various  obliga- 
tions toward  those  who  may  in  future  sustain  that 
office  in  their  midst.  Timely  and  judicious  attention 
to  this  branch  of  pastoral  instruction  will  prove 
equally  advantageous  to  Churches  and  pastors,  by 
enabling  both  to  comprehend  better  the  sacredness 
of  their  mutual  relations,  and  the  means  by  which 
they  can  more  effectually  "strive  together  in  one 
spirit  and  with  one  mind  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel." 
Phil,  i,  27. 


3l8  MAN  MADE    TO    WORSHIP, 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PASTOR  AS  A  LEADER  AND  GUIDE  OF  WORSHIP. 

FROM  the  mutual  relations  and  duties  of  the  pas- 
tor and  the  Church  as  an  organic  body,  we  pass 
to  consider  a  pastor's  relations  and  responsibilities  to 
the  Church  and  congregation  as  a  religious  assembly. 
It  is  an  important  function  of  a  Christian  Church  to 
attract  to  itself  and  within  reach  of  direct  pastoral 
influence,  many  who  are  not  members,  but  who  may 
be  expected  to  become  such.  Hence,  although  a 
pastor's  obligations  to  the  organic  Church  are  pri- 
mary, they  are  not  ultimate.  While  his  first  duties 
are  to  feed  and  nourish  the  gathered  flock  he  is  never 
to  lose  sight  of  those  sheep  that  are  without  the  fold, 
and  who  need  to  be  brought  within  it  as  a  place  of 
safety,  and  a  training  school  for  heaven.  In  this  view, 
all  men  must  be  regarded  as  having  religious  suscep- 
tibilities and  wants,  which  can  only  be  satisfied  by 
divine  worship.  Hence  the  Christian  sanctuary  must 
be  thrown  open  to  invite  the  wayfarer  and  the  wan- 
derer as  well  as  the  children  and  friends  of  the 
Church  to  join  in  acts  of  devotion  to  their  common 
Father  and  Judge.  Even  the  infidelity  which  at- 
tempts to  deny  immortality  to  man  is  forced  to  admit 
that   "man  is  a  worshiping  animal."     All  the  false 


SYSTEMS  OF  WORSHIP.  319 

worships  of  heathenism,  and  the  history  of  the  world 
from  the  earliest  ages,  concur  in  proving  that  man 
was  made  to  worship.  Patriarchism  and  Judaism 
were  based  upon  the  same  great  fact ;  and  when  their 
preparatory  service  was  accomplished,  Christianity 
was  revealed  and  established  as  a  system  of  worship 
fully  adapted  to  the  spiritual  wants,  not  of  a  tribe  or 
nation,  but  of  the  human  race.  Great  mistakes,  how- 
ever, have  been  made,  by  some  who  have  represented 
Christianity,  in  not  maintaining  the  simplicity,  the 
spirituality,  and  the  purity  of  the  worship  appointed 
by  Christ  as  adapted  to  men  and  acceptable  to  God. 
Hence  cumbrous  and  costly  ceremonies,  derived  in 
part  from  Judaism,  in  part  from  paganism,  and  in 
part  from  the  devices  of  men's  hearts,  have  been  im- 
posed upon  the  Christian  Church  as  a  necessary 
means  or  condition  of  worship.  The  tendency  of 
ceremonious  forms  has  uniformly  been  to  corrupt  or 
banish  that  true  spirituality  which  is  the  one  essen- 
tial idea  of  true  worship.  "  The  hour  cometh,  and 
now  is,"  said  the  Lord  Jesus,  "  when  the  true  wor- 
shipers shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in 
truth :  for  the  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  him. 
God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that  worship  him  must 
worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

To  promote  the  will  of  God  in  this  regard  is  there- 
fore one  of  the  great  duties  of  the  Christian  ministry. 
For  this  object  the  holy  Sabbath  is  given,  temples  of 
worship  are  erected,  and  frequent  assemblies  of  the 
people  are  convened.  In  assemblies  for  worship,  ac- 
cording to  the  Christian  idea,  the  pastor  is  the  appro- 
priate and  recognized  leader.    On  this  account  he  was 


320  A   PASTOR'S  FUNCTIONS. 

anciently  called  Tzposaro)^,  PrceposituSy  or  President, 
reference  being  had  to  his  function  of  conducting  di- 
vine service.  So  in  modern  as  well  as  ancient  times 
the  pastor  is  the  president  or  conductor  of  worship  in 
a  Christian  assembly. 

In  this  capacity  several  specific  and  important  du- 
ties devolve  upon  him.  Primarily  it  belongs  to  him, 
in  connection  with  suitable  advisers,  to  arrange  the 
times  of  public  worship.  On  the  meeting  of  a  relig- 
ious assembly  it  is  his  function  to  initiate  the  serv- 
ices, either  by  announcing  a  hymn  of  praise  to  God, 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  or  the  offering  of  prayer. 
In  these  several  acts,  whatever  order  may  be  pursued, 
the  object  is  not  so  much  to  fulfill  a  ceremony  as  to 
engage  the  attention  and  enlist  the  feelings  of  all 
present  in  becoming  themselves  worshipers  "  in  spirit 
and  in  truth."  For  a  more  minute  consideration  of 
what  belongs  to  the  pastor  in  this  sphere  of  his  du- 
ties we  may  give  attention  to,  i.  Public  worship;  2. 
Social  worship. 

No  man  is  so  responsible  for  making  the  Lord's 
The  Sabbath  a  ^^y  a  delight  and  a  blessing  to  the  com- 
dehght  munity  in  which  he  dwells  as  the  Christian 

pastor.  In  the  accomplishment  of  this  result  worship 
must  not  only  be  made  attractive,  but  edifying — a 
means  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  profit  to  all  who 
engage  in  it.  One  of  the  most  important  prerequi- 
sites to  this  is  that  the  pastor  himself  be,  like  John 
upon  Patmos,  "in  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."  Much 
has  been  written  on  preparation  for  preaching ;  com- 
paratively little  on  preparation  for  praying.  Of  the 
two,  the  latter  is  most  important,  since  speaking  to 


PREPARATION  FOR    WORSHIP.  32 1 

God  is  a  more  solemn  thing  than  speaking  to  men. 
All  that  has  been  heretofore  said  respecting  the  relig- 
ious qualifications  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  should  be 
presupposed  as  a  general  preparation  for  the  religious 
duties  of  any  given  Sabbath.     Then  the  specific  prepa- 
ration for  the  duties  of  the  sanctuary  should  each  Sab- 
bath be  early  commenced  in  the  closet.     They  should 
be  intimately  associated  with  the  meditations  on  sacred 
truth  designed  to  occupy  the  thoughts  of  the  minister 
and  the  people,  so  that  a  certain  unity  may  be  secured 
for  the  entire  engagement  of  the  time  spent  in  the 
sanctuary.     Special  devotional  reading  and  composi- 
tion may  be  employed  to  concentrate  thought  and  fa- 
cilitate expression,  as  well  as  to  preoccupy  the  soul 
with  the  fervor  and  the  reverence  which  become  the 
sanctuary.     On  entering  the  sacred  place  devotions 
should  be  continued,  and  a  devotional  frame  of  mind 
cultivated,  to   the   exclusion   of  worldly  and   intrud- 
ing thoughts.     Corresponding  to  this,  congregations 
should   be   instructed    and    entreated   to   regard   the 
Christian  Church   not   merely   as   an   auditorium  for 
preaching,   but   as   a   temple   for   divine   worship,   in 
which,  as  a  primary  duty,  it  is  appropriate  for  all  to 
bow  the   head   in   silent   and   fervent   prayer  at   the 
moment    of  entering.      Few   things   have   a   greater 
tendency  to  banish  sacred  thoughts  and  to  dissipate 
sentiments  of  adoration  than  to  gaze  listlessly  about, 
and  fill  the  mind  with  observations  upon  persons  and 
dress,  or  any  thing  else  foreign  to  the  idea  of  com- 
munion with    God.      For   the  habits   of   a   religious 
congregation  in  this  regard  the  pastor  is  largely  re- 
sponsible ;  and  it  should  be  his  aim  continually  to 


322  PLACES  OF  WORSHIP  SACRED, 

deepen  and  strengthen  the  sacredness  of  all  the 
associations  of  the  house  of  worship.  Not  only  he, 
but  his  official  members,  should  guard  against  any 
uses  of  a  Christian  Church  which  might  directly  or 
indirectly  dissipate  sacred  associations  and  defile  it 
with  acts  or  memories  at  variance  with  the  spiritual 
worship  of  the  living  God.  In  the  reaction  of  Prot- 
estantism against  the  extremes  of  Romanistic  ritual- 
ism, an  opposite  and  not  less  reprehensible  extreme 
has  often  been  reached  by  which,  through  the  care- 
lessness or  the  weakness  of  persons  charged  with  the 
control  of  church  edifices,  they  have  often  been  pol- 
luted by  most  objectionable  uses.  It  is  not  only  the 
right  but  the  duty  of  a  pastor  to  demand  that  a 
church,  in  which  he  is  to  conduct  public  worship  and 
preach  the  gospel,  be  held  sacred  to  that  exclusive  use. 
To  allow  churches  to  be  used  for  political  meetings, 
for  comic  concerts,  for  dramatism,  under  any  of  its 
guises,  or  even  for  miscellaneous  lectures  and  ad- 
dresses, is  to  destroy  the  idea  of  their  sacredness,  and 
to  rob  them  of  a  silent  power  which  is  invaluable  as 
an  auxiliary  to  worship.  Here  is  a  matter  in  which 
pastors,  as  they  love  the  souls  of  men,  are  called  upon 
to  exert  all  their  legitimate  authority,  and  to  claim 
obedience  in  behalf  of  their  divine  Master,  who  set 
them  so  conspicuous  an  example  of  zeal  for  the  purity 
of  God's  temple.*  Church  desecrations,  by  whomso- 
ever permitted,  are  sure  to  result  in  serious  hinder- 
ances  to  the  spirituality  of  worship  on  many  succeed- 
ing Sabbaths,  if  not  indeed  permanently. 

Space  forbids  an  extended  discussion  of  the  pro- 

*  See  Matt,  xxi,  12. 


DIFFERENT  FORMS  OF  WORSHIP.  323 

priety  of  any  particular  order  or  form  of  Christian 
worship.  It  is  assumed  that  the  order  may  be 
changeable  and  the  forms  different  with  equal  ac- 
ceptance before  God,  the  grand  essentialities  of  wor- 
ship consisting  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  truth  of 
worship.  Whatever  form  or  order,  therefore,  is  in 
any  Church  deemed  most  conducive  to  the  true  spirit 
of  worship  is  to  be  commended  and  followed.  It 
seems  like  a  very  narrow  view  of  the  design  and 
possibilities  of  public  devotion  to  limit  it,  from  Sun- 
day to  Sunday,  to  a  fixed  ritual,  and  to  prayers  com- 
posed centuries  ago.  Ritual  forms,  nevertheless,  have 
their  advantages,  especially  in  enabling  and  accus- 
toming all  present  to  actually  participate  in  acts  of 
worship.  A  prayer  of  invocation  as  the  initiatory 
act  of  divine  service  seems  in  itself  intrinsically 
appropriate,  although,  when  in  practice  followed  by 
what  is  termed  the  long  prayer,  it  seems  ceremoni- 
ous, and  tends  to  repetition.  The  theory  of  our  own 
Church  is  that  the  prayer  of  invocation  should  be 
silent  and  individual,  and  that  devotional  singing  is 
appropriate  as  the  first  general  act  of  public  worship. 
To  this,  then,  let  our  attention  be  now  given. 

Singing  the  praises  of  God  is  an  act  in  which 
every  member  of  a  Christian  congregation  ^^^^^^  ^^^ 
should  be  encouraged,  and,  if  possible,  in- 
duced to  participate.  The  allotment  of  this  important 
branch  of  worship  to  a  quartette  or  a  select  few  is  an 
obvious  perversion  of  propriety.  Yet  there  may  be  no 
impropriety  in  a  select  few  competent  persons  being 
designated  to  lead  the  singing  of  a  large  congregation. 
The  same  view  may  be  expressed  of  an  organ  used  for 


324  CONGREGATIONAL  SINGING. 

that  object.  If  isolated  and  exclusive  in  its  use,  it  is 
a  vain  show,  a  proxy,  a  performance.  If  employed  as 
a  guide  and  a  help,  it  may  contribute  greatly  to  the 
good  order,  the  vitality,  and  the  religious  interest  of 
the  service.  The  pastor  has  much  to  do  in  rendering 
the  singing  of  his  congregation  spiritual  and  an  aid 
to  the  devotions  of  the  people. 

1.  He  needs  to  select  appropriate  hymns,  and  to 
read  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  impress  their 
choice  sentiments  upon  all  hearts. 

2.  By  a  definite  understanding  with  the  leader  of 
his  choir  he  should  make  it  certain  that  both  appro- 
priate and  familiar  tunes  are  chosen. 

3.  He  should  exhort  and  induce  all  the  people  to 
join  in  the  singing.  This  can  rarely  be  accomplished 
by  a  single  word,  but  only  by  systematic  and  perse- 
vering effort,  inclusive  of  recommendations  that  all 
provide  themselves  with  hymn-books,  that  all  give 
attention  to  learning  to  sing  and  to  sing  well,  and 
specially  that  all  earnestly  and  fervently  join  in  the 
present  hymn,  entering  into  the  sentiment  as  an  act 
of  personal  devotion.  He  should  teach  these  things 
by  example  as  well  as  precept,  being  himself  a  par- 
ticipant, and  not  a  spectator  of  the  service  of  song. 

If  by  these  and  other  appropriate  modes  he  can 
induce  the  people  to  sing  "with  the  spirit  and  the 
understanding  also,"  and  to  sing  "heartily  as  unto 
the   Lord,"  divine  service  will  be  well   commenced. 

In  order  that  prayer  may  be  in  the  highest  degree 
profitable   as  a  branch  of  public  worship, 

Prayer.  . 

it  also  needs  to  be  the  subject  of  special 
instruction    and    exhortation.      In    addition    to    such 


DEVOTIONAL  ATTITUDES.  325 

preaching  upon  the  subject  as  will  demonstrate  its 
importance   and   universal    obligation,    together   with 
the  nature  and   advantages  of  the  various   elements 
and  kinds  of  prayer,  there  should  be  a  special  show- 
ing of  the  proprieties  of  public  prayer,  by  which  every 
one  will   be  enabled   to  appreciate  the  obligation  to 
participate  in  it  as  a  worshiper,  and  the  great  impro- 
priety of  witnessing  it  as  a  spectacle.     All   should 
be  entreated   to  assume  during  prayer  a  devotional 
attitude,  and  to  avoid  the  irreverence  and  distraction 
of  gazing  about.     Where  churches  are   not   so   con- 
structed as  to  render  kneeling  generally  practicable, 
which  is  always  to  be  desired,  at  least  all  may  "  bow 
down,"  and  thus  secure  a  uniformity  of  external  rever- 
ence, which  is  in  itself  impressive,  and  calculated  to 
promote  the  spirituality  of  worship.     As  a  summary 
of   good   instruction   and   an  authoritative   scriptural 
exhortation  it  is  well   often  to  introduce  the  service 
of  public  prayer  with  a  select  address,  like  one  of  the 
following :  "  O  come,  let  us  worship  and  bow  down : 
let  us  kneel  before  the  Lord  our  maker.     For  he  is 
our  God ;  and  we  are  the  people  of  his  pasture,  and 
the  sheep  of  his  hand."     Ps.  xcv,  6,  7.     "  Give  unto 
the  Lord  the  glory  due  unto  his  name :  bring  an  offer- 
ing, and  come  into  his  courts.     O  worship  the  Lord 
in  the  beauty  of  holiness:    fear  before  him,  all  the 
earth."     xcvi,   8,  9.     "Exalt  ye  the   Lord  our  God, 
and  worship  at  his  footstool ;  for  he  is  holy."     xcix,  5. 
"  Enter  into  his  gates  with  thanksgiving,  and  into  his 
courts  with  praise :  be  thankful  unto  him,  and  bless 
his  name."     c,  4. 

In  any  case  where  a  ritual  form   is  employed  it 


326  SPIRIT  OF  PRAYER  AND  PRAISE, 

is  specially  incumbent  on  the  leader  to  comprehend 
the  meaning  and  enter  into  the  spirit  of  his  utter- 
ances, the  people  being  duly  exhorted  to  join  in  the 
responses.  Where  extempore  prayer  is  offered  it  is 
equally  important  to  induce  in  all  the  people  the 
habit  of  mentally  following  and  actually  joining  in 
the  confessions  made,  the  praise  rendered,  and  the 
supplications  uttered.  Whoever  neglects  thus  to 
unite  his  heart  with  the  leader  of  either  public  or 
social  prayer  fails  to  be  an  actual  worshiper,  and 
thus  forfeits  the  highest  privilege  of  such  an  occa- 
sion. Have  not  ministers  too  generally  overlooked 
their  responsibility  of  calling  attention  to  this  impor- 
tant matter,  and  consequently  allowed  habits  to  be 
formed  unfriendly  to  profitable  worship.'' 

In  extempore  prayer  the  three  great  essentials  are 
devotional  thought,  devotional  feeling,  and  devotional 
expression.  The  first  and  second  should  be  habitually 
and  studiously  cultivated,  and  the  third  should  be  se- 
cured by  great  familiarity  with  scriptural  phraseology, 
the  most  approved  devotional  reading,  and  diligent  and 
critical  composition.  These  several  agencies  are  very 
important  as  a  means  of  avoiding  a  sameness  that 
has  the  objectionable  features  of  a  ritual  without  the 
advantages  of  its  antiquity  and  literary  superiority. 
So  far  as  thought  or  matter  is  concerned,  sameness 
and  iteration  are  the  prevailing  faults  of  extempore 
prayer,  and  they  need  to  be  corrected  by  a  diligent 
study  of  variety,  both  in  matter  and  in  combinations, 
while  the  deeper  and  more  progressive  a  minister's 
personal  experience  may  be,  the  more  nearly  his 
prayers  will  become  the  expression  of  his  spiritual 


PUBLIC  READING   OF  SCRIPTURE.  327 

life,  and  the  more  directly  and  powerfully  they  will 
tend  to  improve  the  spiritual  life  of  others.  As  to 
the  general  subjects  and  order  of  public  prayer,  they 
are  suggested  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  his  instruction 
to  Timothy :  "  I  exhort  therefore,  that,  first  of  all, 
supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of 
thanks,  be  made  for  all  men :  for  kings,  and  for  all 
that  are  in  authority ;  that  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and 
peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty.  For  this 
is  good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  our  Sav- 
ior." I  Tim.  ii,  1-3.  To  a  compliance  with  this 
apostolic  direction  may  be  added  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
which,  as  taught  the  disciples,  may  be  considered  an 
ever-binding  prescription  to  Christian  ministers,  spe- 
cially appropriate  to  be  offered  in  the  simultaneous 
utterance  of  a  public  congregation,  as  well  as  in  fam- 
ily and  social  worship.* 

From  the  example  of  the  purest  Judaism,  sanc- 
tioned by  that  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Reading  of  the 
of  the  holy  apostles,  and  of  Christian  an-  Scnptures. 
tiquity,  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  comes  to  us  as 
an  important  branch  of  public  worship.  As  such, 
when  properly  performed,  it  is  "profitable  for  doc- 
trine, for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness."  The  reading  of  the  Scriptures  in 
the  congregation  is  wholly  under  the  control  of  the 
officiating  minister.  On  him  it  devolves  to  make 
appropriate  selections,  and  to  read  with  a  propriety 
and  power  of  expression  that  shall  duly  set  forth  the 

*For  further  suggestions  in  reference  to  the  duty  and  methods  of 
prayer  see  a  volume  entitled,  Helps  to  Prayer,  about  to  be  pub- 
lished by  the  Western  Book  Concern. 


328  ENGAGING  ATTENTION 

significance  of  the  sacred  text.  The  beauty  and  the 
truth  of  God's  word  are  sometimes  seriously  marred 
by  bad  articulation,  hurried  utterance,  affected  into- 
nations, and  misplaced  emphasis.  Let  the  minister, 
therefore,  cultivate  the  best  elocution  in  order  to  do 
justice  to  his  readings  of  the  divine  word,  and  let 
him  avail  himself  of  appropriate  means  to  awaken 
and  increase  the  attention  of  the  people.  Of  such 
means  the  following  may  be  suggested: 

1.  Brief  and  pertinent  introductory  remarks,  fol- 
lowed by  similar  comments  on  portions  of  the  text. 

2.  Encouraging  the  people  to  have  their  Bibles 
with  them,  and  to  follow  the  reading  with  their  eyes. 

3.  Accustoming  the  congregation  to  read  respon- 
sively,  if  not  every  Sunday  and  all  the  Scripture 
lessons,  yet  occasionally,  when  there  is  special  pro- 
priety in  so  doing,  as  in  the  responsive  Psalms,  and 
various  portions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

By  the  last  method  all  the  best  advantages  of  a 
ritual  may  be  secured,  free  from  the  objectionable 
features  of  prayer-books,  together  with  a  variety  in 
the  conduct  of  divine  service  which  will  tend  to 
deepen  general  interest  in  it,  and  consequently  to 
increase  the  profit  of  the  worshipers. 

As  preaching  will  be  more  specifically  referred  to 
in  the  following  chapter,  it  only  remains 

Closing  prayer.  .  .  .  .    ,  ,  - 

to  notice,  m  connection  with  the  usual 
routine  of  public  worship,  the  closing  prayer.  While 
the  introductory  prayer  should  have  reference  to  the 
general  wants  and  interests  of  the  congregation  and 
the  community,  the  concluding  prayer  naturally  grows 
out  of  the  sermon,  and  should  be  in  itself  a  devotional 


FERVENCY  OF  SPIRIT.  329 

Utterance  corresponding  to  the  truth  or  duty  elabo- 
rated in  the  discourse.  Every  religious  truth  is  capa- 
ble of  various  modes  of  expression.  In  a  sermon  it 
may  be  presented  in  a  didactic,  a  hortatory,  or  an 
argumentative  form — in  prayer  devotionally.  When 
the  mind  and  heart  of  a  preacher  have  become  thor- 
oughly enlisted  in  a  subject,  and  when  he  has  done 
his  best  to  present  it  to  a  congregation,  he  can  hardly 
fail  to  experience  overflowing  anxieties  that  God  would 
sanction,  his  effort  and  deepen  the  impressions  the 
truth  may  have  made.  Besides,  the  truth  will  open 
in  new  forms  before  his  own  mind,  and  take  a  natu- 
ral utterance  in  prayer.  How  undesirable  at  such  a 
moment  to  be  fettered  with  any  set  form,  but  how 
profitable  to  bring  to  God  in  deepest  sincerity  the 
outgushings  of  a  soul  glowing  with  desire  in  behalf 
of  those  whom  the  truth  was  designed  to  make  "free 
indeed!"  Devotions  in  which  the  pastor's  own  soul 
is  kindled  into  holy  fervor  can  hardly  fail  to  enlist 
the  ardent  desires  and  deep  religious  sympathies  of  a 
congregation,  and  thus  put  them  in  frame  both  to  ask 
and  receive  the  divine  blessing. 

In  a  preceding  chapter  the  administration  of  the 
sacrament  of  the   Lord's-Supper  was  re- 

.  The  Eucharist. 

ferred  to  as  an  ofncial  duty.     Here  it  may 

be  considered  as  an  act  of  religious  worship  in  which 

the  pastor  is,  as  in  the  services  above  named,  the 

leader  and  guide.     Indeed,  the  participation  of  the 

holy   eucharist  may  be  regarded  as  the  crowning  act 

of  Christian  worship.     How  important,  therefore,  that 

a  pastor  accustom  himself  to  conduct  it  in  a  manner 

conducive  to  his  own  edification  and  that  of  his  peo- 

28 


330         THE  EUCHARIST  AN  ACT  OF  WORSHIP. 

pie !  For  the  reason  that  this  service  always  involves 
similar  conditions,  our  Church  adopts  a  ritual  form 
for  its  administration,  which  is  very  useful  in  guiding 
both  the  administrator  and  the  recipients.  Never- 
theless, the  former  needs  to  superadd  spirit  to  form, 
and  to  infuse  into  the  whole  sermon  a  hallowed  influ- 
ence such  as  can  only  come  from  a  deep  personal 
interest  in  its  sacred  meaning  and  design.  Besides, 
in  the  personal  and  public  addresses  which  follow 
the  prayer  of  consecration,  as  well  as  in  the  singing 
which  follows  the  supper,  there  is  opportunity  for 
several  forms  of  influence  most  desirable  for  a  pastor 
to  exert. 

The  pastor,  therefore,  should  study  the  subject 
from  his  own  peculiar  point  of  view,  and  be  pre- 
pared to  adapt  each  sacramental  occasion  to  the  spe- 
cial spiritual  profit  of  his  people.  It  may  be  with 
him  a  question  whether  to  turn  the  influence  of  any 
given  sacrament  upon  some  one  important  phase  of 
Christian  experience,  or  to  bring  it  to  bear  upon  vari- 
ous phases  that  may  represent  the  necessities  of  dif- 
ferent members  of  his  flock.  For  instance,  there 
might  be  a  condition  of  religious  declension  in  the 
Church,  in  which  it  would  seem  all-important  to 
break  the  spell  of  indifference,  and  rouse  at  once 
the  hope  and  the  activity  of  professed  Christians. 
Again,  there  might  be  a  state  of  revival,  in  which 
new  converts,  reclaimed  backsliders,  and  advanced 
and  advancing  Christians  would  meet  at  the  same 
sacramental  service,  and  a  word  in  season  for  each 
would  require  a  large  variety  of  address.  Without 
attempting  to  discuss  fully  the  great  subject  of  the 


OBJECTS  ATTAINABLE.  33 1 

holy  sacrament  even  in  its  bearing  upon  the  one 
duty  of  worship,  a  few  of  its  appropriate  uses  may 
be  named.  Under  the  direction  of  a  wise  pastor  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's-Supper  may  be  made  an 
occasion  specially  for  either,  or  successively  for  all  of 
the  following  spiritual  exercises: 

1.  Close  self-examination. 

2.  Penitence  for  sin. 

3.  Solemn  reconsecration  to  God  and  his  service. 

4.  Devout  commemoration  of  the   Savior's   death. 

5.  Joyful  anticipation  of  heaven. 

6.  Triumphant  hope  of  meeting  the  Savior  and 
loved  ones  gone  before. 

In  view  of  such  high  designs  and  varied  possibili- 
ties, how  very  important  is  it  that  every  person  called 
to  administer  the  holy  sacrament  be  properly  quali- 
fied and  prepared  to  render  it  in  the  highest  degree 
a  means  of  grace  to  Christian  worshipers ! 

Additionally  to  all  the  responsibilities  of  conduct- 
ing public  worship,  Christian  pastors  are  charged 
with  similar  obligations  in  reference  to  various  forms 
of  social  worship,  such  as  prayer-meetings,  love-feasts, 
inquiry-meetings,  and  class-meetings. 

Since  the  days  in  which  the  disciples  of  our  Lord 
waited  in  an  upper  room  at  Jerusalem  for  Prayer-meet- 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  meetings  '"^^• 
for  social  prayer  have  been  found  highly  conducive  to 
the  prosperity  of  Churches  and  individual  Christians. 
The  Wesleyan  reformation  was  characterized  by  prom- 
inent attention  to  prayer-meetings  as  a  means  of  grace. 
Such  meetings  were  unknown  in  the  Church  of  En- 
gland until  introduced  by  Wesley,  who  gave  this  com- 


332  DESIGN  OF  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

prehensive  rule  to  his  preachers  :  "  Wherever  you  can, 
appoint  prayer-meetings."  As  a  result  of  his  obser- 
vations for  more  than  thirty  years,  Wesley  wrote  to 
Joseph  Benson,  in  1772,  "I  love  prayer-meetings,  and 
wish  they  were  set  up  in  every  corner  of  the  town. 
But  I  doubt  whether  it  would  be  well  to  drop  any  of 
the  times  of  preaching."  Here  is  the  true  idea  of 
prayer-meetings.  They  are  auxiliaries  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  not  substitutes  for  it.  In  this  light 
they  have  always  been  regarded  and  practiced  in  Wes- 
leyan  Churches.  From  a  pastoral  point  of  view  they 
need  to  be  publicly  and  privately  commended  as  com- 
prised among  the  privileges  and  duties  of  all  Chris- 
tians. The  obligation  of  the  pastor,  therefore,  in  ref- 
erence to  them  is  twofold  : 

1.  To  induce  attendance  upon  them. 

2.  To  render  them  profitable  to  those  who  attend. 

To  fulfill  the  first  branch  of  this  obligation,  ad- 
vantage must  be  taken  of  the  pulpit,  from  which  the 
entire  congregation  can  be  instructed  in  all  that  re- 
lates to  the  design  of  prayer-meetings,  their  history 
and  importance,  and  also  the  privilege  and  duty  of 
attendance  upon  them,  and  participation  in  their  ex- 
ercises. In  connection  with  sermons  or  addresses  on 
this  subject  it  would  be  desirable  to  impress  upon  all, 
with  equal  earnestness,  the  duties  of  family  and  pri- 
vate prayer.  Indeed,  the  universal  duty  of  prayer 
should  be  fully  set  forth  as  beginning  with  the  in- 
dividual invited  to  communion  with  his  Maker, 
and  extending  from  himself  in  his  closet  outwardly 
to  all  the  relations  he  sustains,  whether  in  his  family, 
his  neighborhood,  the  Church,  or  the  world. 


SUITABLE  OCCASIONS  AND  PLACES.  333 

The  idea  of  the  prayer-meeting  is  to  develop  both 
the  faith  and  the  activity  of  every  member  of  the 
Church.  Its  great  possibilities,  both  as  a  means  of 
spiritual  profit  and  as  an  agency  of  power,  are  fully 
indicated  in  the  Savior's  promise :  "  Again  I  say  unto 
you.  That  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touch- 
ing any  thing  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  For  where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."     Matt,  xviii,  19,  20. 

Christians  need  not  only  to  be  fully  impressed  with 
their  personal  and  social  obligations  in  the  matter  of 
prayer,  but  to  be  habituated  to  their  faithful  dis- 
charge. In  a  large  Church  great  care  and  system 
are  necessary  lest  some,  through  diffidence  or  tempta- 
tion, shrink  from  the  exercise  of  their  gifts,  and  bury 
their  talent  in  obscurity.  To  prevent  this,  not  only 
congregational  prayer-meetings  should  be  appointed, 
but  young  people's  prayer-meetings,  female  prayer- 
meetings,  and  even  children's  prayer-meetings,  in 
which,  under  suitable  direction,  the  youngest  and  the 
weakest  should  be  encouraged  to  let  their  voices  be 
heard  in  prayer  and  praise.  Under  appropriate  influ- 
ences the  discharge  of  this  duty  may  become  a  de- 
light so  great  that  urgency  to  promote  it  will  be 
unnecessary. 

In  discharging  the  second  branch  of  pastoral  re- 
sponsibility, in  regard  to  prayer-meetings  some  pre- 
liminaries need  attention,  such  as  the  appointment  of 
a  suitable  time  and  place.  The  material  conditions 
of  success  should  not  be  overlooked ;  hence  a  conve- 
nient time  and  an  attractive  place,  well  lighted,  well 


334  CONDUCT  OF  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

warmed,  and  well  ventilated,  should,  if  possible,  be 
provided.  In  the  construction  of  churches,  the  pro- 
vision of  rooms  suitable  for  social  prayer  should  be 
regarded  as  indispensably  important.  A  prayer  room 
ought  not  to  be  too  large.  Wide  spaces  and  unfilled 
seats  have  a  chilling  effect  upon  the  sympathies  of  a 
prayer  circle  ;  whereas  compactness  and  fullness  con- 
tribute to  favorable  and  hopeful  impressions.  Next 
to  this  class  of  arrangements  should  be  the  known 
habit  of  commencing  and  ending  exactly  at  the  time, 
rarely  allowing  the  time  to  extend  beyond  an  hour. 
As  to  the  conduct  of  the  meeting  the  leader  should 
take  his  place  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  and  not 
remote  from  them.  From  the  moment  of  beginning 
he  should  show  himself  prepared,  both  in  thought  and 
feeling,  to  strike  an  appropriate  key-note  for  the  serv- 
ice. If  possible,  he  should  be  able  to  lead  the  sing- 
ing. If  not,  he  should  be  aided  by  one  who  is.  The 
singing,  the  prayers,  and  the  remarks  of  the  leader 
should  be  models  of  brevity,  of  earnestness,  and  of 
the  true  spirit  of  worship.  As  a  rule,  prayer-meetings 
should  be  devoted  to  prayer  and  praise.  Under  the 
latter  head  may  be  included  brief  narrations  of  expe- 
rience ;  but  long  exhortations  and  formal  addresses, 
as  well  as  long  prayers,  are  out  of  place.  While  un- 
due urgency  should  be  avoided,  all  present  should  be 
encouraged  to  take  a  part  in  the  exercises,  and  that 
they  may  be,  the  leader  should  feel  free  to  call  on 
any  one  by  name.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  time 
is  well  occupied,  and  not  monopolized  by  a  few,  the 
freedom  of  speaking  and  praying,  as  prompted  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  and  a  sense  of  duty,  should  be  encour- 


SILENT  PRAYER— REQUESTS.  335 

aged.  The  leader  of  a  prayer-meeting  should  be 
skillful  to  control  any  adverse  tendencies  that  may 
manifest  themselves,  and  to  take  advantage  of  any 
unexpected  circumstance  that  may  add  interest  to  the 
meeting.  Above  all,  he  should  be  full  of  faith  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  himself  a  worshiper,  illustrating,  by 
every  word  and  action,  the  spirit  of  humble,  joyful, 
and  devout  worship,  thus  continually  pointing  to 
heaven  and  leading  the  way.  Much  has  of  late  been 
written  and  said  of  the  faults  of  prayer-meetings,  and 
various  expedients  have  been  suggested  to  render 
them  interesting  and  profitable.  The  former  is  an 
ungrateful  topic,  and  had  better  be  avoided  if  possible 
by  a  silent  correction  of  whatever  hinders  the  free- 
dom and  fervency  of  devotion.  Of  the  latter,  occa- 
sional intervals  of  silent  prayer,  and  the  practice  of 
calling  for  passages  of  Scripture  at  some  period  of  the 
meeting,  are  to  be  commended,  and  also  that  of  offer- 
ing requests  for  special  prayer  when  the  persons  pre- 
senting them  are  themselves  intent  on  imploring  the 
blessings   for  which  they  ask  others   to  pray. 

The  recent  interest  in  noonday  prayer-meetings,  and 
meetings  for  the  promotion  of  holiness,  together  with 
the  publication  of  numerous  incidents  connected  with 
them,  has  added  largely  to  the  mass  of  suggestions 
previously  on  record,  and  deserving  the  attention  of 
ministers  and  all  others  anxious  to  promote  the  suc- 
cess of  prayer-meetings,  either  in  a  public  or  private 
capacity.  Without  admitting  that  prayer-meetings 
should  be  governed  by  unbending  rules,  but  rather 
by  the  enlightened  judgment  of  responsible  Christian 
men,  we  nevertheless  insert,  as  worthy  of  attention, 


336  BRAMWELUS  RULES. 

Rules  for  the  Conduct  of  Prayer-meetings,  published 
by  Rev.  William  Bramwell,  of  early  Methodistic 
celebrity : 

"  I.  Never  let  more  than  one  person  pray  or  be  heard  to  pray 
at  the  same  time. 

"  2.  Let  all  in  the  congregation  who  feel  what  they  utter  at 
the  close  of  each  petition  say  Amen  ! 

"  3.  Never  sing  praise  till  the  person  engaged  in  prayer  has 
concluded. 

''4.  Persons  in  distress  may  be  spoken  to  by  others  at  the 
time  of  prayer,  but  with  a  low  voice. 

"  5.  When  a  soul  is  saved — whether  it  be  justification,  sancti- 
fication,  or  backslidings  healed — whoever  becomes  acquainted 
with  the  circumstance,  let  him  make  it  known  to  the  preacher 
or  the  person  who  conducts  the  meeting,  that  the  singers,  with 
the  whole  congregation,  may  give  thanks. 

"Abide  strictly  by  these  rules,  dear  brethren,  and  from  the 
New  Testament,  the  practice  of  the  primitive  Church,  and 
thousaifds  of  matters  of  fact,  we  are  ready,  from  the  pulpit  and 
the  press  or  in  private  conversation,  to  vindicate  your  work  in 
the  Lord. 

^^Nottifigham,  1799." 

It  will  be  seen  that  Bramwell  regarded  prayer- 
meetings  as  an  agency  of  revivals,  of  penitent  awak- 
enings, and  immediate  conversions — an  idea  which 
ought  never  to  become  obsolete  in  the  Church. 

Among  the  solid  religious  privileges  of  Christians, 
deserved  prominence  should  be  given  to  a 

Love-feasts.  .  1,      1      • 

class  01  services  called,  m  ancient  times, 
aydr.ai,  fcasts  of  charity,  (Jude,  12  ;)  in  modern  times, 
love-feasts.  Love-feasts  are  characterized  by  the  free 
narration  of  Christian  experience,  mingled  with  songs 
of  praise.  They  are  usually  introduced  by  all  present 
partaking  of  bread  and  water,  in  token  of  mutual  fel- 
lowship.    The  leader  of  a  love-feast  has  it  largely  in 


FEASTS  OF  CHARITY.  337 

his  power  to  give  character  to  the  meeting  by  suit- 
able introductory  remarks,  and  the  pertinent  narration 
of  his  own  experience. 

•  The  Discipline  directs  the  pastor  to  "  suffer  no  love- 
feast  to  last  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half,"  so  that, 
in  case  of  a  large  attendance,  brevity  should  be  en- 
joined. Skillful  presidency  in  a  love-feast,  or  general 
class-meeting,^will  induce  rapid  rotation  in  speaking, 
without  a  sense  of  hurry  and  undue  pressure.  This 
is  done  by  so  judging  of  the  proprieties  of  the  occa- 
sion as  to  be  able  to  impress  upon  those  present  the 
measure  of  their  duty  and  the  importance  of  perform- 
ing it  promptly  and  to  edification.  While  some  min- 
isters have  suffered  formality  and  languor  to  become 
spots  on  these  feasts  of  charity,  others  have  fallen  into 
a  mistake,  scarcely  less  objectionable,  in  the  ambition 
to  secure  (and  report)  the  greatest  possible  number 
of  speeches  in  a  given  time.  Undue  brevity  tends 
either  to  vagueness  or  attempts  at  saying  startling 
things,  both  of  which  are  at  variance  with  the  sim- 
plicity and  godly  sincerity  of  true  Christian  experi- 
ence. A  person  had  better  not  speak  in  a  religious 
meeting  if  he  can  not  be  allowed  to  speak  naturally, 
and  thus,  in  the  highest  sense,  truthfully.  At  the 
same  time,  it  is  more  profitable  to  hear  fewer  ad- 
dresses that  have  weight,  balance,  and  meaning  in 
them  than  many  which  are,  by  extreme  haste  or  brev- 
ity, deprived  of  the  elements  of  edification.  If  the 
object  be  merely  to  secure  an  assent  to  truth,  or  an 
outward  sign  of  conscious  justification  or  adoption,  it 
may  be  secured  instantaneously  by  a  hundred  per- 
sons lifting  their  hand  or  rising  to  their  feet  at  once. 

29 


338  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE, 

While  in  some  circumstances  such  a  measure  might 
not  be  objectionable,  yet  pantomime  is  not  to  be 
commended  in  a  Christian  love-feast ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  clearness  and  definiteness  of  verbal  ex- 
pression, joined  with  a  wholesome  brevity.  The  vol- 
untary principle  should  prevail  in  a  love-feast,  and  tHe 
occasions  are  rare  wherein  it  would  be  proper  to  call 
on  individuals  to  speak.  Nevertheless,  it  is  often 
proper  to  designate  classes  as  specially  entitled  to 
speak,  and  from  whom  the  Church  would  prefer  to 
hear ;  for  instance,  aged  Christians,  young  converts, 
females,  or  other  classes  of  persons  needing  special 
encouragement. 

The  apostolic  command,  "  Let  all  things  be  done 
unto  edifying,"  is  the  proper  motto  for  a  Christian 
love-feast,  and  Christian  people  should  be  taught  and 
exhorted,  not  only  at  the  moment,  but  in  advance,  to 
prepare  themselves,  by  meditation  and  prayer,  to  be 
able  to  "  comfort  themselves  together  and  edify  one 
another,"  as  was  the  custom  of  Christians  in  apostolic 
times.  The  bearings  of  the  love-feast  and  similar 
meetings  upon  the  religious  prosperity  of  a  Church 
are  so  direct  that  every  true  pastor  should  desire 
earnestly  to  have  every  member  share  in  its  advan- 
tages and  contribute  to  its  general  profit.  Formerly, 
in  our  history,  it  was  customary  to  admit  only  by 
tickets  bearing  the  name  of  the  individual,  and  some 
appropriate  verse  of  Scripture.  The  object  was  to 
prevent  the  intrusion  of  worldly  persons,  or  mere 
spectators  ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  this 
mode  of  admission  tended  also  to  secure  greater  reg- 
ularity of  attendance,  and  a  higher  appreciation  of 


TRUE  TYPE  OF  THE  LOVE-FEAST.  339 

this  means  of  grace.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  custom 
has  so  nearly  disappeared  that  pastors  must  adapt 
their  arrangements  to  the  present  state  of  things,  and 
endeavor  to  compensate  for  any  loss  in  the  selectness 
of  the  meeting  by  the  greater  advantage  of  those  who 
do  attend,  inclusive  of  the  children  and  friends  of  the 
Church,  who  might  have  been  unwilling  to  apply 
for  tickets. 

As  love  and  joy  are  twin  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  so  the 
type  of  the  true  love-feast  is  one  of  joy  fulness  and 
thanksgiving.  Sweet  memories  of  past  deliverances 
and  victories  of  faith,  mingled  with  present  assur- 
ances of  the  divine  approval  and  glad  anticipations 
of  future  happiness  and  glory,  are  the  current  topics 
of  mutual  comfort  in  a  love-feast,  in  no  way  deterio- 
rated by  sincere  confessions  of  the  short-comings  and 
better  purposes  of  Christians,  or  the  tears  and  hopes 
of  penitents. 

While  it  is  appropriate  to  encourage  seekers  of  re- 
ligion to  attend  love-feasts  and  class-meet-  inquiry-meet- 
ings, it  is,  perhaps,  more  important  for  '"^^• 
pastors  at  first  to  meet  them  separately  for  special 
conversation.  At  all  times  of  revival  or  special  relig- 
ious concern  such  meetings  should  be  appointed,  and 
every  encouragement  given  to  persons,  young  and  old, 
to  call  upon  the  pastor  for  religious  conference  and 
counsel.  The  pastor  must  use  his  discretion  whether 
to  see  such  persons  collectively  or  singly.  The  latter 
mode  seems  generally  preferable,  as  better  adapted  to 
call  out  a  frank  expression  of  the  facts  in  each  case, 
which  are  most  important  to  be  known  as  a  basis  of 
suitable  advice.     In  a  meeting  with  religious  inquirers 


340  SERIOUS  INQUIRY, 

it  is  of  great  importance  to  disembarrass  the  diffident, 
to  encourage  the  doubting  and  despondent,  to  probe 
to  the  quick  the  self-righteous  and  the  scoffing,  if 
such  appear,  and  to  lead  all  successfully  to  the  Savior 
of  sinners.  Great  kindness  of  manner  and  sweetness 
of  spirit  are  indispensably  requisite  to  call  out  the 
attendance  and  secure  the  confidence  of  the  class  of 
persons  whom  an  inquiry-meeting  is  designed  to  reach 
and  benefit.  But  in  these  no  pastor  should  be  lack- 
ing, and  even  though  no  inquirers  should  come  on  a 
first  invitation,  it  is  well  to  persevere  in  making  the 
invitation  until  it  is  accepted,  and  continue  it  while 
there  is  hope  of  its  further  acceptance. 

As  the  subject  of  class-meetings  and  the  duties  of 
Class-meet-  class-lcadcrs  will  be  more  fully  treated  in 
ings.  Chapter  XIV,  it  seems  only  necessary  to 

say  a  few  words  in  this  connection  in  reference  to 
a  pastor's  personal  duty  toward  the  classes  in  his 
Church.  Every  pastor  should  be  a  good  class-leader. 
In  every  Church  there  should  be  a  pastor's  class. 
Besides  giving  the  attention  due  to  his  own  class, 
the  pastor  should  visit  in  turn  all  the  classes,  and 
share  with  the  several  leaders  the  duty  of  speaking 
to  the  members.  In  this  way  he  may  make  an  inti- 
mate and  profitable  acquaintance  with  the  religious 
state  of  his  members  severally,  and  also  greatly  aid 
and  encourage  the  leaders  of  the  several  classes,  thus 
promoting,  through  this  important  agency,  the  gen- 
eral spirituality  of  his  Church. 

Without  further  reference  to  special  occasions  of 
worship,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a  pastor  should 
regard    it   as    his    duty    to   introduce    and    conduct 


WORSHIP  IN  SOCIAL  SCENES. 


341 


worship  in  connection  with  the  various  benevolent 
activities  and  miscellaneous  assemblies  of  worship  mso- 
his  charge.  Unless  he  do  this  or  provide  ^iai  assemblies. 
that  it  be  done  at  festivals,  sociables,  lectures,  and 
other  gatherings,  the  proper  recognition  of  God  and 
of  Christ  will  often  be  omitted,  and  an  important 
feature  of  Church  assemblies  ignored.  While,  there- 
fore, he  should  guard  against  any  ostentation  of 
devotional  services,  and  whatever  would  make  them 
distasteful,  he  should,  nevertheless,  be  zealous  for  the 
honor  of  God  at  all  times,  and  should,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, cultivate  the  happy  art  of  "making  manifest 
the  savor  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  in  every  place." 
2  Cor.  ii,  14, 


342  A  DESIRABLE  UNION. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  PASTOR  IN  HIS   PULPIT. 

THE  Christian  pulpit  has  been  justly  called  a 
throne  of  power.  Among  the  agencies  of  min- 
isterial usefulness  none  can  be  higher  than  that  of 
preaching  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  In  addition 
to  its  primary  task  of  calling  sinners  to  repentance, 
it  is  the  proper  and  most  efficient  instrumentality  of 
promoting  the  various  interests  and  activities  of  the 
Church.  Reciprocally,  all  the  legitimate  activities  of 
the  Church  react  favorably  upon  the  pulpit.  Hence 
the  pastor  may  hope  to  attain  the  highest  degree  of 
ministerial  influence  through  his  pulpit.  Let  it  not 
be  for  one  moment  supposed  that  because  the  pas- 
toral office  is  magnified  that  of  the  preacher  is  under- 
valued. On  the  other  hand,  the  highest  glory  of  each 
office  is  to  be  found  in  its  just  relations  to  the  other. 
Hence  all  who  aim  to  become  good  pastors  should 
none  the  less  strive  to  become  good  preachers. 

As  no  degree  of  brilliancy  or  power  in  the  pulpit 
will  render  pastoral  duties  unnecessary,  so  no  degree 
of  pastoral  diligence  will  atone  for  weakness  in  the 
pulpit.  Ministerial  character  as  a  whole  derives  its 
greatest  strength  and  beauty  from  the  development  of 
all  its  functions  in  just  and  harmonious  proportions. 


PASTORAL  ADVANTAGES.  343 

This  principle  is  not  always  appreciated  as  it  ought 
to  be,  and  young  men  frequently  fall  into  wrong 
judgments  and  mistaken  courses  from  not  being 
guided  by  it.  Some,  charmed  with  pulpit  oratory  or 
smitten  with  ambition  for  pulpit  celebrity,  become  so 
engrossed  with  desires  and  efforts  to  preach  well 
that  they  overlook  the  essential  dignity  and  impor- 
tance of  the  less  showy  talent  of  pastoral  influence. 
On  the  other  hand,  some,  not  hopeful  of  becoming 
pulpit  orators,  but  determined  to  excel  in  pastoral 
duty,  fail  of  accomplishing  what  they  might  as 
preachers  of  the  divine  word.  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  men  are  answerable  not  only  for  the 
right  improvement  of  their  talents,  but  also  of  their 
opportunities,  and  that  the  pastor's  opportunities  for 
preaching  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  are 
incomparably  superior  to  those  of  the  occasional 
preacher,  whatever  position  he  may  occupy.  The 
former  is  with  his  people  in  sunshine  as  well  as  in 
storm,  in  scenes  of  trial  and  religious  tenderness  as 
well  as  of  popular  excitement  and  unnatural  expect- 
ancy. If  not  called  on  to  condense  his  whole  mental 
power  into  an  occasional  effort,  he  has  the  more 
practicable  and  agreeable  task  of  doing  the  right 
thing  at  the  right  time,  and  the  privilege  of  gather- 
ing harvests  as  well  as  of  sowing  seed.  With  refer- 
ence to  what  the  writer  has  heretofore  published  on 
preaching,  it  is  not  deemed  necessary  to  treat  that 
subject  at  length  in  this  connection,  but  rather  to  add 
a  few  suggestions  of  special  importance  to  pastors. 

Every  one  who   has  accepted   the   pastoral   office 
doubtless  considers  himself  divinely  commissioned  to 


344  ^^^  DESIGN  OF  PREACHING. 

"preach  the  word."  Every  one  who  feels  upon  his 
heart  the  weight  of  a  charge  of  souls  must  also  cher^ 
ish  intense  anxiety  to  wield  to  its  fullest  extent  the 
power  of  an  agency  specially  appointed  for  the  pro- 
mulgation of  Christian  truth,  the  awakening  of  con- 
science, and  the  translation  of  men  from  the  power 
of  darkness  into  the  light  and  liberty  of  the  children 
of  God.  Without  the  accomplishment  of  such  results 
one's  ministry  is  fruitless,  and  -its  services  are  a  vain 
formality.  But  in  the  accomplishment  of  such  results 
God's  plan  can  not  be  ignored,  and,  however  much 
we  may  multiply  auxiliary  efforts,  the  word  of  truth 
must  continue  to  be  preached  in  "the  demonstration 
of  the  spirit  and  of  power."  If  the  pastor  neglects 
this  great  duty,  who  will  attend  to  it?  If  he  desires 
to  perform  it  with  zeal  and  efficiency,  how  shall  he 
best  succeed.^ 

In  answer  to  the  last  question  it  may  be  said  that 
for  a  pastor  to  fill  the  measure  of  his  responsibility 
in  the  Christian  pulpit  of  the  present  day  much  more 
is  necessary  than  to  have  good  desires  and  wholesome 
purposes.  His  soul  must  be  imbued  with  the  grand- 
eur of  his  calling,  he  must  have  a  correct  theory  of 
action,  he  must  put  forth  tireless  efforts,  and  he  must 
earnestly  seek  and  confidently  rely  on  divine  aid.  In 
more  detail  the  following  positions  may  be  affirmed : 

I.  The  pastor  must  keep  before  his  mind  jtist  and 
clear  ideas  of  the  sacred  design  of  the  preacher  s  office y 
and  of  the  responsibility  of  every  effoH  in  which  it  is 
sought  to  be  exercised.  Where  a  duty  is  perpetually 
recurring  there  is  a  tendency  to  become  careless  in 
its  performance.     Circumstances  reiterated  with  but 


EXALTED  IDEAL,  345 

little  variation  lose  their  power  of  impression,  and 
the  mind,  without  the  stimulus  of  an  active  faith, 
lapses  into  a  dull  routine,  and  seeks  its  ease  in  the 
idea  that  to-morrow  will  be  as  this  day,  and  perhaps 
more  abundant  in  its  opportunities  of  usefulness. 
Thus  occasions  never  to  return  are  allowed  to  go  by 
with  at  best  a  formal  and  perfunctory  improvement, 
or  their  duties  are  shifted  off  upon  others  with  the 
zest  of  a  task  escaped.  It  is  marvelous  to  observe 
what  zeal  is  sometimes  manifested  in  seeking  to  be 
relieved  from  the  duty  of  preaching,  and  with  what 
readiness  indifferent  aid  is  accepted,  as  if  pastoral 
responsibility  could  be  transferred  at  will,  and  possi- 
bly the  talent  of  the  pastor  heightened  by  an  unfa- 
vorable contrast. 

How  unworthy  all  this  of  an  earnest  man  of  God, 
a  man  conscious  of  being  commissioned  to  bear  the 
message  of  the  Lord  to  dying  men!  Indeed,  it  will 
never  occur  in  the  history  of  one  who  realizes  in  any 
just 'degree  the  value  of  souls  and  the  sacredness  of 
his  obligations  to  enlighten  and  save  them  according 
to  the  best  of  his  ability  and  opportunity. 
;  2.  The  pastor  should  cherish  an  exalted  idea  of  what 
a  sermon  otcght  to  be  aftd  to  accofnplish.  How  many 
seem  to  regard  it  as  a  mere  ceremony,  or  at  most  an 
occasion  to  appear  before  the  public !  Whereas  the 
true  pastor  conceives  of  a  sermon  as  an  instrumen- 
tahty  divinely  appointed  for  the  highest  objects  con- 
nected with  his  work  in  striving  to  build  up  Christ's 
kingdom  upon  earth  ;  such  as  the  overthrow  of  error, 
the  establishment  of  truth,  the  conversion  of  sinners, 
the  edification  and  sanctification  of  believers.     Never- 


346  DEFINITE  AIM. 

theless,  he  does  not  confuse  his  own  mind,  nor  the 
minds  of  his  hearers,  by  attempting  too  many  distinct 
objects  at  once..  On  the  other  hand,  he  concentrates 
his  thoughts  and  focalizes  his  power  by  aiming  at  one 
definite  result  in  each  sermon.  Unless  that  result  is 
accomplished  he  is  not  satisfied,  however  others  may 
be  pleased  or  disposed  to  compliment  his  effort.  An- 
alyzing the  processes  by  which  results  are  attained, 
he  is  contented  to  take  one  step  at  a  time,  and  to 
repeat  the  effort  if  necessary  to  actual  progress.  Thus 
his  successive  sermons  become  means  to  ends,  and, 
with  the  divine  blessing,  are  made  to  mark  successive 
epochs  of  advancement  toward  the  grand  results  at 
which  he  aims.  He  may  indeed  be  often  painfully 
conscious  of  falling  below  his  own  ideal  of  a  sermon, 
but  nevertheless  will  not  yield  to  discouragement,  but 
will,  with  the  greater  diligence,  aim  to  do  his  best  in 
each  succeeding  effort.  This  perpetual  and  consci- 
entious aim  at  appropriate  and  specific  results  will 
have  the  happy  effect  of  elevating  the  preacher  above 
the  petty  ambition  of  fine  writing  and  pretty  speaking. 
Prof  Hoppin's  recent  work  on  the  ministry  contains 
a  pertinent  caution  against  mere  ornamentation  in 
pulpit  style. 

"  In  any  ornament  we  may  employ,  let  us  ask  our- 
selves. Does  this  increase  the  effect  of  my  sermon .? 
Does  it  aid  the  thought }  If  not,  reject  it.  There  is 
no  such  curse  to  a  writer  as  the  desire  oi  fine  writing. 
It  clings  to  one  worse  than  the  robe  of  Nessus,  and  it 
must  be  given  up  at  any  sacrifice." 

In  the  same  category  with  the  desire  of  fine  writing 
must  be  classed  the  ambition  of  "  smart  speaking,"  of 


VARIETY.  347 

Uttering  paradoxes  and  startling  sayings  of  various 
kinds.  \Few  things  are  more  derogatory  to  a  preach- 
er's manhood,  or  tend  more  effectually  to  Avoid  low  am- 
deprave  his  own  taste  and  that  of  his  hear-  ^'^'°"^- 
ers,  than  a  craving  and  striving  after  celebrity  by 
means  of  odd  and  extravagant  expressions.  Palpable 
proof  of  this,  in  both  forms,  is  furnished  by  a  volume 
made  up  entirely  of  detached  paragraphs,  purporting 
to  have  been  reported  from  the  sermons  of  a  popular 
preacher,  and  published  recently  under  the  title  of 
"  Pulpit  Pungencies."*  .  \ 

3.  The  pastor  should  cultivate  a  keen  sense  of  propri- 
ety as  to  the  length  of  his  sernioiis.  This  is  better 
than  to  be  governed  by  any  fixed  rule.  Recognizing 
the  general  importance  of  brevity  in  pulpit  addresses, 
the  Catholic,  Mullois,  seems  to  think  he  has  attained 
the  acme  of  perfection  by  prescribing  sermons  of 
seven  minutes  each !  This  rule  appears  to  Protest- 
ants trivial  in  the  extreme  ;  yet  it  would  be  better  to 
follow  it  than  to  indulge  in  the  tediousness  which  some 
preachers  habitually  inflict  upon  their  hearers.  Tedi- 
ousness in  a  pastor  is  not  only  intolerable,  but  is  with- 
out apology,  in  view  of  the  frequency  with  which  he 
appears  before  his  people. 

4.  The  pastor  should  make  sure  of  variety,  both  in 
his  subjects  and  modes  of  treatment.  The  principle 
of  variety  harmonizes  perfectly  with  that  of  brevity 
and  definiteness  of  aim.  When  properly  followed,  it 
guards  equally  against  vagueness  and  self-repetition, 
both  of  which  often  result  from  attempting  too  much. 

*  One  who  has  examined  the  volume  suggests  that  the  title  of  "  Pul- 
pit Strainings  "  would  have  been  quite  as  appropriate  ! 


348  CONTINUOUS  EXPOSITION. 

Dr.  Nott  well  said :  "  Those  who  put  a  whole  body 
of  divinity  into  one  sermon  always  preach  pretty  much 
the  same  thing;  while  they  who  confine  themselves 
to  the  illustration  and  application  of  a  single  point, 
will  always  be  able  to  present  something  new."  But 
unity  of  theme  is  scarcely  more  desirable  than  variety 
of  treatment.  Sameness  of  method  becomes  as  in- 
sipid as  tameness  of  thought.  Hence  the  pastor 
should  be  able  to  employ  the  various  modes  of  pul- 
pit discussion,  in  adaptation  to  their  proper  objects. 
Indeed,  he  should  study  adaptation,  both  of  matter 
and  of  manner,  as  a  cardinal  element  of  success. 

5.  He  should  practice  contimcous  expositions  of  the 
word  of  God.  Although  expository  discourses  are 
possible  to  all  preachers,  yet  the  pastor  exclusively 
enjoys  opportunities  for  systematic  and  continuous 
expositions  of  revealed  truth.  Observe  what  is  said 
of  the  importance  and  manner  of  that  kind  of 
preaching  by  living  pastors.  Dr.  Howard  Crosby, 
of  New  Y'ork,  writes  respecting  the  order  of  work  in 
his  Church,  among  other  items,  the  following: 

"  Expository  sermons  are  preached  every  Sunday  afternoon, 
in  the  regular  second  service  of  the  Lord's  day.  I  use  about 
twenty  verses — according  to  the  natural  divisions  of  the  sub- 
ject— of  historical  or  narrative  portions,  and  make  it  a  continu- 
ous exposition.  I  began  with  Exodus  ii — birth  of  Moses — and 
am  now  at  David's  contest  with  Goliath — i  Sam.  xvii.  It  has 
taken  me  three  years  to  go  thus  far.  I  have  no  manuscript  for 
these  expositions,  nor  do  I  prepare  any  rhetoric  for  them.  They 
are  plain  discourses.  But  I  study  three  days  on  each  exposi- 
tion, using  every  help  of  Hebrew  history,  geography,  archaeol- 
ogy, etc.,  and  much  prayer.  These  exercises  have  made  my 
people  Bible  students.  One  of  these  discourses  I  consider 
worth  a  dozen  of  my  set  sermons." 


STUDY  OF  THE  WORD. 


349 


Mr.  Spurgeon,  of  London,  says: 


"Earnestly  do  I  advocate  commenting.  It  is  unfashionable 
in  England,  though  somewhat  more  usual  beyond  the  Tweed. 
The  practice  was  hardly  followed  up  anywhere  in  England  a 
few  years  ago,  and  it  is  very  uncommon  still.  In  order  to  exe- 
cute it  well  the  commenting  minister  will  at  first  have  to  study 
twice  as  much  as  the  mere  preacher,  because  he  will  be  called 
upon  to  prepare  both  his  sermons  and  his  expositions.  As  a 
rule  I  spend  much  more  time  over  the  exposition  than  over  dis- 
courses. Once  start  a  sermon  with  a  great  idea,  and  from  that 
moment  the  discourse  forms  itself  without  much  labor  to  the 
preacher,  for  truth  naturally  consolidates  and  crystallizes  itself 
around  the  main  subject  like  sweet  crystals  around  a  string 
hung  up  in  sirup.  But  as  for  the  exposition,  you  must  keep  to 
the  text,  you  must  face  difficult  points,  and  must  search  into  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit  rather  than  your  own.  You' will  soon  reveal 
your  ignorance  as  an  expositor  if  you  do  not  study;  therefore 
diligent  reading  will  be  forced  upon  you.  Any  thing  which 
compels  the  preacher  to  search  the  grand  old  Book  is  of  im- 
mense service  to  him.  If  any  are  jealous  lest  the  labor  should 
injure  their  constitutions,  let  them  remember  that  mental  work 
upon  a  certain  point  is  most  refreshing,  and  where  the  Bible  is 
the  theme  toil  is  delight.  It  is.  only  when  mental  labor  passes 
beyond  the  bounds  of  common  sense  that  the  mind  becomes 
enfeebled  by  it,  and  this  is  not  usually  reached,  except  by  inju- 
dicious persons,  or  men  engaged  on  subjects  which  are  unre- 
freshing  and  disagreeable.  But  our  subject  is  a  recreative  one, 
and  to  young  men  like  ourselves  the  vigorous  use  of  our  facul- 
ties is  a  most  healthy  exercise.  Classics  and  mathematics  may 
exhaust  us,  but  not  the  volume  of  our  Father's  grace,  the  char- 
ter of  our  joys,  the  treasure  of  our  wealth." 

Dr.  Tholuck,  of  Germany,  has  also  said: 

"  It  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  forms  of  preaching  to  render 
an  extended  exposition  impressive  and  profitable,  but  it  is  one 
of  the  highest  and  most  admirable.  It  can  not  be  done  purely 
extemporaneously.  It  requires  careful  study,  and  will  call  into 
requisition  all  the  natural  and  acquired  abilities  of  the  studious 
minister.  But  such  a  habit  of  ministration  will  greatly  enrich 
pulpit  discourses,  present  the  word  of  God  in  such  a  manner 


350  LIVING   THOUGHT. 

that  it  will  exert  its  own  native  and  divine  force  over  the  intel- 
lect and  conscience,  and  relieve  it  of  those  difficulties  with 
which  prejudice,  ignorance,  and  science  falsely  so-called  have 
invested  the  Scriptures.  Essay  preachers  must  often  be  at  a 
loss  for  subjects.  Sensation  preachers  depend  upon  the  pass- 
ing events  of  the  day,  which  constantly  repeat  themselves  and 
exhaust  their  own  power.  The  Bible,  if  it  be  thoroughly  stud- 
ied and  made  the  theme  of  pulpit  ministration,  will  be  found  to 
be  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  truths. 
The  true  interpretation  of  God's  message  to  man  is  the  prime, 
as  it  is  the  very  responsible,  work  of  the  minister  of  the  gospel." 

The  pastor  who  has  never  secured  for  himself  or 
his  people  the  advantages  of  continuous  expository- 
preaching  should  set  about  the  task  without  delay. 

6.  The  pastor  should  accustom  Jiimself  to  secure  val- 
uable hints  for  his  sermons  i7t  his  inteixourse  with  the 
people.  He  should  also  acquire  the  habit  of  thinking 
out  the  matter  of  his  discourses  while  on  his  rounds 
of  daily  and  weekly  duty.  Some  ministers  slight 
their  pastoral  work  as  a  result  of  tedious  and  pro- 
tracted toil  on  their  sermons,  and  others  slight  their 
sermons  while  attending  to  pastoral  work.  Both 
classes  of  errors  may  be  avoided.  It  is  a  false  phi- 
losophy that  supposes  the  mind  incapable  of  more 
than  one  thought  or  train  of  thought  at  a  time. 
The  pastor  must  reject  it,  and  prove  its  falsity  by 
acquiring  the  habit  here  recommended.  He  may 
thus  double  his  working  capacities  in  the  best  of  all 
employments.  Besides,  those  sermons  are  the  best 
that  spring  up  and  grow  in  the  mind  under  the  influ- 
ence of  air  and  sunshine  rather  than  under  the  forcing 
process  of  hot-bed  culture. 

These  remarks  are  based  on  the  view  that  truth 
and   thought,  not  verbiage,  constitute   the  essential 


THE  SERMON  A  GROWTH.  35  1 

elements  of  a  sermon,  and  also  on  the  supposition 
that  the  pastor  has  acquired,  as  a  part  of  his  prelimi- 
nary preparation,  the  capacity  of  promptly  and  forci- 
bly expressing  whatever  thought  his  mind  can  clearly 
conceive.  They  furthermore  contemplate  the  sermon 
as  a  mental  birth.  A  germ  of  scriptural  truth  having 
been  lodged  in  the  mind  and  heart,  it  grows  with  the 
experience  and  the  mental  and  spiritual  growth  of 
the  composer,  partaking  jointly  of  the  original  nature 
of  the  germ  itself  and  the  individuality  of  the  mind 
in  which  it  is  expanded  and  given  form  and  being. 
Without  this  mental  elaboration  and  development 
there  is  no  sermon  proper,  however  fragments  may 
be  collated  or  words  concatenated.  A  r^-creation 
must  take  place  in  order  to  secure  organic  symmetry 
and  life.  Thus  alone  will  it  be  invested  with  reality 
and  power  to  the  hearer.  A  similar  view  has  been 
expressed  by  an  anonymous  writer  under  the  figure 
of  a  tree : 

"A  tree  is  worthless  without  the  root — and  a  rootless  sermon 
is  such  a  tree — fit  only  to  be  burned.  No  sermon  is  worthy  of 
the  name — it  may  be  an  essay,  but  it  can  not  be  dignified  into  a 
sermon — which  does  not  strike  itself  into  the  Scripture,  and 
draw  up  out  of  that  its  meaning  and  its  life.  A  sermon  should 
be  evolved  out  of  the  Scripture  like  a  tree  out  of  its  root.  An 
address  ready-made,  which  goes  mousing  about  the  Bible  seek- 
ing a  text  which  it  may  use  as  a  '  motto '  or  '  by  way  of  accom- 
modation,' stays  an  address  forever,  and  can  not  become  a 
sermon.  To  preach  is  to  declare  the  word  of  God,  and  the 
word  of  God  is  the  Bible,  and  the  Scripture  must  always  sustain 
an  organic  and  vital  relation  to  the  sermon.  The  impulse  to 
the  sermon  should  come  from  the  Scripture,  just  as  the  impulse 
toward  the  tree  originates  in  the  seed. 

"  Patient,  laborious,  thoughtful  study  of  the  word  is,  then,  the 
first  duty  of  the  man  who  would  preach.     The  seed  of  the  ser- 


352  FORCIBLE  DELIVERY, 

mon  should  lie  in  the  text,  and  then  all  varying  influences  of 
experience  and  reading,  and  the  needs  of  the  congregation, 
should  foster  and  minister  to  it,  just  as  the  air,  and  rain,  and 
light  serve  the  tree.  And  it  is  marvelous,  the  freshness  and 
variety  of  these  suggestions  of  the  Scripture  to  a  man  who 
keeps  his  heart  sensitive  toward  the  Bible  and  his  eyes  opened 
toward  life." 

tJnder  guise  of  the  same  figure,  it  has  been  well 
said,  that  "  the  sap  of  the  text  should  reach  the  fur- 
thest twig  of  the  sermon." 

7.  A  pastor  sJiould  deliver  his  sermons  with  feeling 
ajid  effect.  In  order  to  this  he  must  address  the  sen- 
sibilities as  well  as  the  intellect.  As  eloquence  is  the 
language  of  emotion,  so  no  high  grade  of  pulpit  elo- 
quence was  ever  attained  apart  from  deep  religious 
feeling ;  but  when  that  feeling  exists  in  reality,  and 
has  a  just  expression,  true  eloquence  is  never  want- 
ing. A  free  and  powerful  expression  of  religious 
feeling  was  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Meth- 
odist preaching  in  early  times ;  and  may  the  day  be 
distant  when  that  characteristic  shall  disappear  from 
among  us! 

Feeling  and  thought  should  always  be  corre- 
spondent to  each  other.  Feeling  without  thought 
flashes  and  burns  out  like  oil  without  a  wick.  Feel- 
ing, properly  blended  with  thought,  and  tempered  by 
it,  burns  brightly  and  steadily,  like  the  unwasting 
lamp  of  truth.  But  no  pretense,  no  affectation,  and 
no  vociferation  can  atone  for  a  lack  of  true  feeling. 
It  must  exist  in  the  heart  of  the  speaker,  or  the  ser- 
mon will  fall  flat  and  powerless  upon  the  audience. 
Religious  feeling  is  sympathetic.  It  is  not  only  com- 
municated  by  the   preacher   to   his   hearers,  but  by 


ESSENTIAL  ELEMENTS.  353 

hearers  to  their  preacher.  Hence  a  pastor,  who  has 
a  strong  hold  upon  the  sympathies  and  the  affections 
of  his  people,  possesses  peculiar  advantages  for  doing 
them  good  by  his  preaching,  while  he  may  receive 
corresponding  advantages  from  their  earnest  attention 
and  active  sympathy.  A  pastor  should  therefore  give 
his  people  to  understand  the  objects  at  which  his 
discourses  aim,  and  encourage  them  to  take  the  same 
objects  upon  their  own  hearts,  and  to  pray  fervently 
that  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  be  rendered  *'  quick, 
and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
piercing  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  the  soul  and  the 
spirit."  Heb.  iv,  12.  When  an  earnest  Church  thus 
sympathizes  with  a  faithful  pastor,  then,  indeed,  may 
he  rejoice  in  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  everlasting 
gospel  to  them,  and  to  all  that  have  ears  to  hear. 
But  he  has  no  right  to  ask  for  the  sympathies  of  his 
people,  nor  even  the  blessing  of  God,  as  a  substitute 
for  proper  study  and  effort  on  his  own  part.  Proper 
study  and  effort  on  the  part  of  a  preacher,  not  only 
lead  to  the  diligent  preparation  of  particular  sermons, 
but  to  a  general  cultivation  of  his  capabilities  as  an 
orator;  such  as  a  complete  development  and  disci- 
pline of  his  voice,  the  capacity  of  appropriate  and 
impressive  gesture,  and  especially  the  habit  of  con- 
ceiving strongly  and  holding  definitely  before  his  own 
mind  the  object  to  be  accomplished  in  the  minds  of 
his  hearers.  For  the  attainment  of  that  object  he 
must  cherish  an  ardent  desire,  together  with  firm 
convictions  of  the  power  and  adaptation  of  the  truth 
he  utters,  for  its  accomplishment  then  and  there. 
Faint  expectations  of  immediate  and  decisive  results 

30 


354  RELIGIOUS  CONSISTENCY, 

neutralize  the  most  brilliant  pulpit  talents,  and  ren- 
der preaching  a  powerless  ceremony.  O  that  pastors 
would  henceforth  speak  to  the  people  with  an  earnest- 
ness, a  confidence,  and  a  determination  worthy  of  the 
message  they  bear,  and  of  the  high  vocation  with 
which  they  are  called! 

8.  The  pastor  must  sustain  his  pulpit  utterances  by  a 
pure  life  and  a  consistent  example.  The  truth  of  this 
position  is  not  only  self-evident,  but  it  is  corroborated 
by  many  facts,  both  of  a  positive  and  of  a  negative 
character.  Of  the  latter  the  following  incident  has 
been  published  as  an  example: 

"  A  young  minister,  after  preaching  very  earnestly  in  a  certain 
chapel,  had  to  walk  some  four  or  five  miles  to  his  home,  along  a 
country  road,  after  service.  A  young  man,  who  had  been  deeply 
impressed  under  the  sermon,  requested  the  privilege  of  walking 
with  the  minister,  with  an  earnest  hope  that  he  might  get  an 
opportunity  of  telling  his  feelings  to  him  and  obtaining  some 
word  of  guidance  or  comfort.  Instead  of  that  the  young  min- 
ister, all  the  way  along,  told  tales  to  those  who  were  with  him, 
causing  loud  roars  of  laughter.  He  stopped  at  a  certain  house, 
and  this  young  man  with  him,  and  the  whole  evening  was  spent 
in  frivolity  and  foolish  talking.  Years  after,  when  the  minister 
had  grown  old,  he  was  sent  for  to  the  bedside  of  a  ciying  man. 
He  hastened  thither  with  a  heart  desirous  to  do  good.  He  was 
requested  to  sit  down  at  the  bedside,  and  tlie  dying  man,  look- 
ing at  him  and  regarding  iiim  most  closely,  said  to  him,  '  Do 
you  remember  preaching  in  such  and  sucli  a  village,  and  on  such 
an  occasion  .'"  '  I  do,'  said  the  minister.  '  I  was  one  of  your 
hearers,'  said  the  man,  'and  I  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  ser- 
mon.' 'Thank  God  for  that,'  said  the  minister.  'Stop!'  said 
the  man,  '  do  n't  thank  God  until  you  have  heard  the  whole 
story ;  you  will  have  reason  to  alter  your  tone  before  I  have 
done.'  The  minister  changed  countenance,  but  he  little  guessed 
what  would  be  the  full  extent  of  that  man's  testimony.  Said 
he  :  'Sir,  do  you  remember,  after  you  had  finished  that  earnest 
sermon,  that  I,  with  some  others,  walked  home  with  you  ?     I 


BELIEVING  PRAYER.  355 

was  sincerely  desirous  of  being  led  in  the  right  path  that  night, 
but  I  heard  you  speak  in  such  a  strain  of  levity,  and  with  so 
much  coarseness,  too,  that  I  went  outside  the  house,  while  you 
were  sitting  down  to  your  evening  meal ;  I  stamped  my  foot 
upon  the  ground :  I  said  that  you  were  a  liar  ;  that  Christianity 
was  a  falsehood ;  that  if  you  could  pretend  to  be  so  earnest 
about  it  in  the  pulpit,  and  then  come  down  and  talk  like  that, 
the  whole  thing  must  be  a  sham  ;  and  /  have  been  an  infidel^ 
said  he,  '■a  confirmed i7ifidel^  from  that  day  to  this.  But  I  am 
not  an  infidel  at  this  moment ;  I  know  better.  I  am  dying  and 
about  to  be  damned,  and  at  the  bar  of  God  I  will  lay  my  damna- 
tion to  your  charge.  My  blood  is  upon  your  head.'  And  with 
a  dreadful  shriek,  and  one  demoniacal  glance  at  the  trembling 
minister,  he  sliut  his  eyes  and  died." 

Whether  young  or  old,  ministers  can  not  be  too 
careful  to  be  exemplars  of  the  truth  they  proclaim, 
and  to  illustrate,  by  all  their  words  and  actions,  the 
beauty  of  holiness. 

9.  The  pastor  should  regard  believing  prayer  as  an 
auxiliary  of  true  pulpit  success.  His  preparations  for 
preaching  should  be  begun,  continued,  and  ended  in 
the  spirit  of  prayer,  and  accompanied  by  frequent  acts 
of  supplication  for  divine  aid  and  the  heavenly  unc- 
tion ;  and  having  done  his  best  in  all  the  legitimate 
means  of  preparation,  let  him,  in  the  act  of  preaching, 
"  cast  his  care  on  him  that  careth  for  him,"  continu- 
ally supplicating  and  confidently  expecting  help  "  from 
one  that  is  mighty." 

Under  the  old  motto,  "  If  we  would  reap  in  the  pul- 
pit, we  must  sow  in  the  closet,"  C.  H.  Spurgeon  has 
made  the  following  memorable  utterances  : 

"  Of  course  the  preacher  is  above  all  others  distinguished  as 
a  man  of  prayer.  He  prays  as  an  ordinary  Christian,  else  he 
were  a  hypocrite.  He  prays  more  than  ordinary  Christians,  else 
he  were  disqualified  for  the  office  which  he  has  undertaken.    *  It 


356  WRESTLING   WITH  GOD, 

would  be  wholly  monstrous,'  says  Bernard,  'for  a  man  to  be 
highest  in  office  and  lowest  in  soul ;  first  in  station  and  last 
in  life.' 

"A  certain  Puritan  divine,  at  a  debate,  was  observed  fre- 
quently to  write  upon  the  paper  before  him  ;  upon  others  curi- 
ously seeking  to  read  his  notes,  they  found  nothing  upon  the 
page  but  the  words,  '  More  light,  Lord,'  '  More  light,  Lord,'  re- 
peated scores  of  times  :  a  most  suitable  prayer  for  the  student 
of  the  Word  when  preparing  his  discourse. 

"  Prayer  will  singularly  assist  you  in  the  delivery  of  your  ser- 
mon. None  are  so  able  to  plead  with  men  as  those  who  have 
been  wrestling  with  God  on  their  behalf.  It  is  said  of  Alleine, 
*He  poured  out  his  very  heart  in  prayer  and  preaching.  His 
supplications  and  his  exhortations  were  so  affectionate,  so  full 
of  holy  zeal,  life,  and  vigor,  that  they  quite  overcame  his  hearers  ; 
he  melted  over  them,  so  that  he  thawed  and  mollified,  and  some- 
times dissolved,  the  hardest  hearts.'  A  truly  pathetic  delivery, 
in  which  there  is  no  affectation,  but  much  affection,  can  only  be 
the  offspring  of  prayer.  There  is  no  rhetoric  like  that  of  the 
heart,  and  no  school  for  learning  it  like  the  foot  of  the  cross. 
It  were  better  that  you  never  learned  a  rule  of  human  oratory, 
but  were  full  of  the  power  of  heaven-born  love,  than  that  you 
should  master  Quintilian,  Cicero,  and  Aristotle,  and  remain 
without  the  apostolic  anointing. 

"As  fresh  springs  of  thought  will  frequently  break  up  during 
preparation,  in  answer  to  prayer,  so  will  it  be  in  the  delivery  of 
the  sermon.  Most  preachers,  who  depend  upon  God's  Spirit, 
will  tell  you  that  their  freshest  and  best  thoughts  are  not  those 
which  are  premeditated,  but  ideas  which  come  to  them  flying,  as 
on  the  wings  of  angels — unexpected  treasures,  brought  on  a 
sudden  by  celestial  hands,  seeds  of  the  flowers  of  Paradise, 
wafted  from  the  mountains  of  myrrh.  Often  and  often,  when  I 
have  felt  hampered  both  in  thought  and  expression,  my  secret 
groaning  of  heart  has  brought  me  relief,  and  I  have  enjoyed 
more  than  usual  liberty.  But  how  dare  we  pray  in  the  battle,  if 
we  never  cried  to  the  Lord  while  buckling  on  the  harness  '^.  The 
remembrance  of  his  wrestling  at  home  comforts  the  fettered 
preacher  when  in  the  pulpit.  God  will  not  desert  us  unless  we 
have  deserted  him.  Brethren,  prayer  before  preaching  will  in- 
sure you  strength  equal  to  your  day. 

"  As  the  tongues  of  fire  came  upon  the  apostles,  when  they 


WHEELS  OF  FIRE.  357 

sat  watching  and  praying,  even  so  will  they  come  upon  you. 
You  W\\\  find  yourselves,  when  you  might  perhaps  have  flagged, 
suddenly  upborne,  as  by  a  seraph's  power.  Wheels  of  fire  will 
be  fastened  to  your  chariot,  which  had  begun  to  drag  right 
heavily,  and  angelic  steeds  will  be  in  a  moment  harnessed  to 
your  fiery  car,  till  you  climb  the  heavens,  like  Elijah,  in  a  rapt- 
ure of  flaming  inspiration. 

"  How  often  have  some  of  us  tossed  to  and  fro  upon  our 
couch,  half  the  night,  because  of  conscious  short-comings  in 
our  testimony !  How  frequently  have  we  longed  to  rush  back  to 
the  pulpit  again,  to  say  over  again  more  vehemently,  what  we 
have  uttered  in  so  cold  a  manner  ! 

"  Like  Joseph,  the  affectionate  minister  will  seek  where  to 
weep.  His  emotions,  however  freely  he  may  express  himself, 
will  be  pent  up  in  the  pulpit,  and  only  in  private  prayer  can  he 
draw  up  the  sluices  and  bid  them  pour  forth.  If  we  can  not 
prevail  with  men  for  God,  we  will,  at  least,  endeavor  to  prevail 
with  God  for  men.  We  can  not  save  them,  or  even  persuade 
them  to  be  saved,  but  we  can  at  least  bewail  their  madness,  and 
entreat  the  interference  of  the  Lord.  Like  Jeremiah,  we  can 
make  it  our  resolve,  'If  ye  will  not  hear  it,  my  soul  shall  weep 
in  secret  places  for  your  pride,  and  mine  eyes  shall  weep  sore 
and  run  down  with  tears.'  To  such  pathetic  appeals  the  Lord's 
heart  can  never  be  indifferent ;  in  due  time  the  weeping  inter- 
cessor will  become  the  rejoicing  winner  of  souls.  There  is  a 
distinct  connection  between  importunate  agonizing  and  true  suc- 
cess, even  as  between  the  travail  and  the  birth,  the  sowing  in 
tears  and  the  reaping  in  joy.  '  How  is  it  that  your  seed  comes 
up  so  soon  ?'  said  one  gardener  to  another.  '  Because  I  steep 
it,'  was  the  reply.  We  must  steep  all  our  teachings  in  tears, 
when  none  but  God  is  nigh,'  and  their  growth  will  surprise 
and  delight  us. 

"  Satan's  kingdom  fears  not  our  rhetoric,  our  literature,  or 
our  orthodoxy  ;  prayer  is  the  master  weapon,  and  the  enemy 
quails  before  it.  Vain  are  all  our  words  till  the  word  of  the 
King  comes  to  the  conscience  in  answer  to  our  prayers. 

"  Could  we  read  Jonathan  Edwards'  description  of  David 
Brainerd  and  not  blush  ?  '  His  life,'  says  Edwards,  '  shows  the 
right  way  to  success  in  the  works  of  the  ministry.  He  sought 
it  as  a  resolute  soldier  seeks  victory  in  a  siege  or  battle  ;  or  as 
a  man  that  runs  a  race  for  a  great  prize.     Animated  with  love  to 


358  ADVANTAGES  OF  PASTORS. 

Christ  and  souls,  how  did  he  labor  always  fervently,  not  only  in 
word  and  doctrine,  in  public  and  private,  but  \vi  prayers  day  and 
night,  wrestling  with  God  in  secret,  and  travailing  in  birth,  with 
unutterable  groans  and  agonies,  until  Christ  were  formed  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  to  whom  he  was  sent !' 

"  We  not  only  ought  to  pray  more,  but  we  must.  The  fact  is, 
the  secret  of  all  ministerial  success  lies  in  prevalence  at  the 
mercy-seat.  One  bright  benison  which  private  prayer  brings 
down  upon  the  ministry  is  an  indescribable  and  inimitable  some- 
thing, better  understood  than  named ;  it  is  a  dew  from  the  Lord, 
a  divine  presence,  which  you  will  recognize  when  I  say  it  is  '  an 
unction  from  the  Holy  One.' 

"  The  getting  up  of  fervor  in  hearers  by  the  stimulation  of  it 
in  the  preacher  is  a  loathsome  deceit,  to  be  scorned  by  honest 
men.  'To  affect  feeling,'  says  Richard  Cecil,  'is  nauseous  and 
soon  detected,  but  to  feel  is  the  readiest  way  to  the  hearts  of 
others.'  Unction  is  a  thing  which  you  can  not  manufacture, 
and  its  counterfeits  are  worse  than  worthless  ;  yet  it  is  in  itself 
priceless,  and  beyond  measure  needful  if  you  would  edify  be- 
lievers and  bring  sinners  to  Jesus.  To  secret  pleaders  with 
God  this  secret  is  committed." 

In  reviewing  the  subject  of  this  chapter  let  actual 
and  intending  pastors  ask  themselves  whether  they 
fully  appreciate  the  advantages  of  a  Christian  pulpit, 
a  regular  audience,  and  a  sympathetic  and  prayerful 
Church  interested  in  whatever  gracious  words  may 
fall  from  their  lips,  not  as  a  means  of  self-gratifica- 
tion or  aggrandizement,  but  as  an  agency  of  making 
the  world  better,  and  of  saving  the  souls  of  the  per- 
ishing. If  so,  let  them  show  that  appreciation  by 
striving  diligently  and  prayerfully  to  sustain  their  pul- 
pits in  a  manner  worthy  of  him  who  hath  called  them 
to  be  preachers  of  righteousness  in  the  great  congre- 
gation.    Ps.  xl,  9. 


THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  IDEA,  359 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  PASTOR  IN  HIS  SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

\  T  JITH  the  progress  and  more  complete  develop- 
»  V  ment  of  Christianity  in  the  earth,  Christian  labor 
becomes  divided  into  a  greater  number  of  departments 
and  more  perfectly  systemized  in  its  details.  Within 
the  last  hundred  years  this  fact  has  been  well  illus- 
trated in  the  history  of  Sunday-schools.  The  Sun- 
day-school idea  is  no  new  discovery  of  modern  times. 
It  dates  back  to  the  morning  of  the  world's  religious 
history.  Its  fundamental  element  is  found  in  God's 
original  gift  to  man  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  period  of 
physical  rest  and  moral  culture.  The  divine  appoint- 
ment of  a  weekly  day  of  rest  indicated  the  wants  and 
provided  for  the  welfare  of  the  race,  children  included. 
But  the  element  of  special  religious  instruction  for 
children  was  additionally  prescribed  in  Judaism.  See 
Deut.  xi,  19-21;  Deut.  xxxi,  11-13. 

When  the  peculiar  privileges  of  the  Jews  as  a  na- 
tion were  about  to  be  withdrawn  on  account  of  their 
unfaithfulness,  the  promise  of  the  Messiah  was  re- 
newed with  the  assurance  that  he  should  turn  the 
hearts  of  the  fathers  to  the  children  and  the  hearts  of 
the  children  to  the  fathers.  Mai.  iv,  6.  This  promise 
was  glo-iously  fulfilled  in  Christ,  who  in  various  ways 


360  DIVINE  PLAN, 

instructed  his  disciples .  respecting  the  importance  of 
childhood  as  a  period  of  religious  interest  and  culture, 
and  with  reference  to  the  establishment  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  upon  earth.  See  Matt,  xviii,  2-5  ;  Mark 
X,  13-16.  Children  were  pointed  out  with  peculiar 
emphasis  in  the  Lord's  pastoral  command  to  his  dis- 
ciples, "  Feed  my  lambs,"  and  with  scarcely  less  sig- 
nificance in  the  great  commission  which  the  risen 
Savior  uttered  in  these  words,  saying,  "  All  power  is 
given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye,  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you:  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."     Matt,  xxviii,  19,  20. 

Since  childhood  is  the  proper  and  principal  period 
of  human  instruction,  how  could  it  ever  have  been 
supposed  that  nations  can  be  effectually  taught  with- 
out beginning  with  the  children }  And  yet,  in  the 
Christian  Church  this  great  principle  was  overlooked 
for  centuries — a  fact  of  itself  sufficient  to  account  in 
a  great  measure  for  the  slow  advance  of  Christ's 
kingdom  among  the  nations.  Happily  in  the  revival 
of  the  eighteenth  century  the  spirit  of  the  great 
Teacher's  instructions  to  his  disciples  was  also  revived 
and  more  fully  than  ever  before  illustrated  in  special 
organizations  for  the  religious  instruction  of  children 
on  the  Lord's  day.  It  is  true  that  the  Sunday-schools 
of  Raikes  and  his  immediate  coadjutors  had  at  first 
more  of  a  philanthropic  than  a  strictly  religious  char- 
acter, being  taught  by  paid  teachers,  and  devoted 
chiefly  to  the  elements  of  secular  instruction.     But  in 


MODERN  DEVELOPMENT.  36 1 

this  respect  they  were  like  John  the  Baptist,  harbin- 
gers of  a  better  dispensation.  Their  measures  hav- 
ing in  themselves  an  intrinsic  excellence  sufficient  to 
win  the  approbation  of  the  philanthropic,  they  soon 
awakened  the  hopes  and  enlisted  the  religious  zeal  of 
those  whose  controlling  anxiety  was  to  spread  and 
establish  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  earth. 

In  July  of  1784,  the  year  in  which  Robert  Raikes 
pubHshed  an  account  of  the  first  establishment  of  his 
Sunday-school  in  Gloucester,  John  Wesley  made  the 
following  record  in  his  journal : 

'■'■Sun.  18.  I  preached  morning  and  afternoon  in  Bingley 
Church,  but  it  would  not  near  contain  the  congregation.  Before 
service  I  stepped  into  the  Sunday-school,  which  contains  two 
hundred  and  forty  children,  taught  every  Sunday  by  several 
masters,  and  superintended  by  the  curate.  So,  many  children 
in  one  parish  are  restrained  from  open  sin,  and  taught  a  little 
good  manners  as  well  as  to  read  the  Bible.  I  find  these  schools 
springing  up  wherever  I  go.  Perhaps  God  may  have  a  deeper 
end  therem  than  men  are  aware  of.  Who  knows  but  some  of 
these  schools  may  become  nurseries  for  Christians  ?" 

Upon  this  grand  idea  of  making  Sunday-schools 
nurseries  for  Christians,  the  Methodists  of  that  day 
laid  hold  with  earnestness,  initiating  at  once  the  sys- 
tem of  gratuitous  instruction  which  has  ever  since 
been  the  right  arm  of  power  to  the  Sunday-school 
cause.  So  rapidly  did  the  religious  idea  of  the  Sun- 
day-school spread,  that  the  good  Wesley  was  enabled 
to  record  in  his  journal  of  April  16,  1786: 

"  I  hastened  back  to  Bolton.  The  house  was  crowded,  the 
more  because  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  children  that  are  taught  in 
our  Sunday-schools  ;  such  an  army  of  them  got  about  me  when 
I  came  out  of  the  chapel  that  I  could  hardly  disengage  myself 
from  them." 

31 


362  THE  RELIGIOUS  IDEA. 

Again,  Mr.  Wesley  wrote,  April,  1788: 

'•'■  Frid.  18.  Notice  having  been  at  Wigan  of  my  preaching  a 
sermon  for  the  Sunday-schools,  the  people  flocked  from  all 
quarters  in  such  a  manner  as  never  was  seen  before. 

'•'-  Sat.  19.  We  went  out  to  Bolton  where  I  preached  in  the 
evening  in  one  of  the  most  elegant  houses  in  the  kingdom,  and 
to  one  of  the  liveliest  congregations.  And  this  I  must  avow, 
there  is  not  such  a  set  of  singers  in  any  of  the  Methodist  con- 
gregations in  the  three  kingdoms.  There  can  not  be,  for  we 
have  near  a  hundred  such  trebles,  boys  and  girls  selected  out 
of  our  Sunday-schools  and  accurately  taught,  as  are  not  found 
together  in  any  chapel,  cathedral,  or  music-room  within  the  four 
seas.  Besides,  the  spirit  with  which  they  all  sing  and  the  beauty 
of  many  of  them  so  suits  the  melody,  that  I  defy  any  to  exceed 
it,  except  the  singing  of  angels  in  our  Father's  house. 

^' S21JI.  20.  At  eight,  and  at  one,  the  house  was  thoroughly 
filled.  About  three,  I  met  between  nine  hundred  and  a  thou- 
sand of  the  children  belonging  to  our  Sunday-schools.  I  never 
saw  such  a  sight  before.  They  were  all  exactly  clean  as  well  as 
plain,  in  their  apparel.  All  were  serious  and  well  behaved. 
Many,  both  boys  and  girls,  had  as  beautiful  faces  as,  I  believe, 

England  or  Europe  can  afford What  is  best  of  all, 

many  of  them  truly  fear  God,  and  some  rejoice  in  his  salvation. 
These  are  a  pattern  to  all  the  town.  Their  usual  diversion  is 
to  visit  the  poor  that  are  sick  (sometimes  six,  eight,  or  ten  to- 
gether), to  exhort,  comfort,  and  pray  with  them.  Frequently  ten 
or  more  get  together  to  sing  and  pray  for  themselves,  sometimes 
thirty  or  forty,  and  are  so  earnestly  engaged  that  they  know  not 
how  to  part.  You  children,  that  hear  this,  why  should  you  not 
go  and  do-likewise  ?  Let  God  arise  and  maintain  his  own  cause, 
even  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings." 

The  religious  idea  of  Sunday-schools  having  been 
inaugurated  in  the  Church,  and  having  also  received 
the  divine  sanction  as  a  favored  instrumentality  for 
promoting  not  only  religious  knowledge  among  youth 
and  children,  but  also  their  genuine  conversion,  has 
continued  to  spread  and  prevail  ever  since.  Notwith- 
standing  many  mistakes  and  much  experimental  effort, 


PROPER  PURPOSES.  363 

perhaps  inseparable   from  the  first  incorporation  of 
Sunday-schools  among  the  leading  activ- 

r      ^         /—I      •       .  .         Results. 

ities  ol   the  Christian  world,  who  can  esti- 
mate the  spiritual  good  that  has  resulted  from  them 
during  the  last  fourscore  years  ? 

It  is  not  the  object  of  the  present  chapter  to  discuss 
the  subject  of  Sunday-schools  in  its  general  aspect^ 
but  only  with  specific  reference  to  the  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  pastors.  It  need  not  be  denied  that, 
among  the  acknowledged  mistakes  that  have  occurred 
in  the  prosecution  of  the  Sunday-school  cause  hith- 
erto, a  full  share  may  be  attributed  to  the  misconcep- 
tions, the  indifference,  or  the  neglect  of  pastors.  It 
will  not  be  profitable  to  dwell  upon  hinderances  that 
have  now,  in  a  great  measure,  passed  away,  any  further, 
at  least,  than  may  be  necessary  to  guard  against  future 
mistakes.  It  should,  however,  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
wherever  the  Sunday-school  is  regarded  as  an  extra- 
neous institution,  and  not  an  actual  part  of  the  op- 
erations of  a  Christian  Church,  or  as  an  enterprise 
belonging  exclusively  to  the  lay  talent  of  the  Church, 
and  with  which  ministers  have  nothing  to  do,  it  is 
divorced  from  its  proper  relations,  and  put  in  a  false 
position.  That  even  in  such  a  position  it  may  accom- 
plish a  certain  degree  of  usefulness  is  quite  possible  ; 
but  to  be  useful  in  the  highest  degree,  the  Sunday- 
school  should  be  recognized,  and  should  recognize 
itself,  as  a  direct  auxiliary  to  the  work  of  God,  in  all 
its  essential  forms.  In  this  view  the  Sunday-school 
becomes  a  "  wheel  within  a  wheel ;"  a  fold 
within  a  fold ;  a  special  organization  of  the 
youth  and  children  of  a  Church  for  such  purposes 


364  POSSIBLE  DIFFICULTY, 

as  these ;  viz. :  i.  To  promote  true  religious  worship,; 
and,  2,  a  genuine  religious  life.  3.  To  diffuse  sound 
religious  knowledge.  4.  To  enlist  the  sympathies 
and  activities  of  young  and  old  in  various  religious 
enterprises. 

In  this  view,  moreover,  the  Sunday-school  appears 
as  an  auxiliary  of  pastoral  labor  of  the  highest  prom- 
ise, and  as  that  toward  which  a  pastor  should  cherish 
a  sincere  and  inalienable  affection. 

But  suppose  it  should  be  objected  that  the  mana- 
gers and  teachers  of  some  Sunday-schools  so  far  reject 
the  supervision  and  co-operation  of  a  pastor  that  he  is 
obliged,  out  of  self-respect,  to  hold  himself  aloof.  It 
may  be  answered  that  such  a  state  of  things  can  only 
be  supposed  possible  as  a  result  of  mutual  misunder- 
standing of  each  other's  relations  and  duties,  or  of 
indiscretion  on  the  one  part  or  the  other.  If,  on  the 
one  hand,  a  pastor  should  have  assumed  the  office 
of  arbitrary  dictation,  and  have  made  the  Sunday- 
school  the  scene  or  the  occasion  of  some  uncalled-for 
exercise  of  authority ;  or  if,  on  the  other  hand,  Sun- 
day-school work  or  management  should  have  been 
taken  up  as  a  means  of  social  position,  or  a  result  of 
personal  compliment,  or,  what  is  worse,  if,  on  either 
part,  a  spirit  of  unkindness  or  of  jealousy  should  have 
manifested  itself,  it  would  not  be  surprising  that  mu- 
tual repugnancy  would  have  arisen  to  the  great  injury, 
of  all  the  interests  involved.  Such  difficulties  once 
created  may  be  very  difficult  to  remove,  but  may 
nevertheless,  be  expected  to  yield  to  a  persevering 
exercise  of  the  principles  that  should  have  governed 
from  the  beginning;  viz.,  mutual  love,  respect,  obli- 


A   PASTOR'S    TRUE  RELATION,  365 

gation,  and  even  cross-bearing,  for  the  sake  of  the 
divine  Master. 

To  all  who  accept  the  theory  that  the  Sunday- 
school  should  be  a  part  of  the  Church,  as  children 
form  a  part  of  the  family  to  which  they  belong,  there 
can  never  arise  any  serious  doubt  as  to  the  relation 
which  the  pastor  ought  to  sustain  to  the  school  and 
all  connected  with  it.  If  there  is  any  portion  of  the 
Church  toward  which  he  owes  most  affectionate  and 
continuous  oversight  it  is  certainly  the  Sunday-school. 
If  there  is  any  portion  of  Church  work  concerning 
which  his  solicitudes  should  never  flag,  and  to  which 
he  should  give  his  best  thoughts  and  his  most  prom- 
ising efforts,  it  should  be  that  which  lays  the  founda- 
tion of  the  religious  faith,  life,  and  character  of  the 
children  of  his  Church  and  congregation.  Rare,  in- 
deed, will  be  the  case  where  such  solicitudes  and 
co-operation  will  be  repelled,  where  indeed  they  will 
not  be  hailed  with  gladness  on  the  part  of  Sunday- 
school  workers  of  every  grade,  as  what  they  most  of  all 
desire.  It  may  now  be  af^rmed  with  confidence,  that 
the  true  position  of  a  pastor  in  his  Sunday- 

1  ,    .  ^  r  1  r  1  -^^^  Overseer. 

school  IS  not  that  of  a  teacher  of  a  class, 
nor  of  a  superintendent,  but  rather  that  of  a  general 
pastoral  overseer.  Exceptionally,  indeed,  and  in  any 
case  of  emergency,  the  pastor  should  be  willing,  while 
he  should  always  be  competent  and  prepared,  to  teach 
a  class  or  superintend  the  school.  The  prompt  and 
efficient  discharge  of  such  duties,  when  special  neces- 
sity may  arise,  will  be  of  use  to  him  personally,  as 
well  as  a  most  useful  example  in  the  school  and 
Church.     But  there  are  various  reasons  why  ordina- 


366  A   GENERAL  OFFICER. 

rily  a  pastor  should  not  accept  a  teachership  or  su- 
perintendency  in  his  Sunday-school: 

1.  In  so  doing  he  will  leave  talent  idle  which  ought 
to  be  employed  in  that  very  work. 

2.  He  ought  to  be  free  for  his  own  proper  work  and 
responsibility,  which  no  one  else  can  discharge  for  him. 

3.  If  regularly  occupied  he  could  not  be  free  for 
the  occasional  duties  which  he  might,  in  emergencies, 
render  to  any  of  the  classes.  Besides,  there  might 
be  danger  of  his  so  far  overtasking  his  strength  by 
regular  service  in  the  Sunday-school  as  to  render  him 
incapable  of  properly  discharging  his  other  Sabbath 
duties.  These  remarks  are  not  designed  to  excuse 
the  pastor  from  regular  attendance  on  the  Sunday- 
school,  which,  on  the  contrary,  is  urged  as  a  duty 
for  which  he  should  make  his  plans  and  adapt  his  ar- 
rangements. In  that  duty  he  will  experience  great 
delight  as  well  as  exert  an  influence  of  incalcula- 
ble value.  It  may  not  be  necessary  for  the  pastor 
to  attend  during  the  whole  session  of  the  Sunday- 
An  occasional  school,  but  that  hc  should  bc  present  dur- 
teacher.  jj^g  gomc  part  of  cach  session,  and  thus  be 
a  constant  and  interested  observer  of  its  conduct  and 
progress,  is  highly  important.  In  the  case  of  a  plu- 
rality of  schools  his  visits  to  each  one  will  be  neces- 
sarily less  frequent,  but  should  be  so  distributed  as  to 
enable  him  to  observe  the  workings  of  all  and  to 
render  aid  and  advice  when  needed. 

This  personal  attendance  of  a  pastor  upon  his 
Sunday-school  work  makes  him  better  acquainted 
with  his  teachers  and  Sunday-school  scholars  than 
he  could  otherwise  be,  and  thus  secures  for  him  a 


PASTOR'S  DUTIES.  36/ 

place  in  their  affections  and  an  avenue  of  access  to 
their  hearts.  Besides,  it  puts  him  in  a  position  to 
represent  properly  all  the  interests  of  the  Sunday- 
school  in  the  public  congregation.  Hence,  it  may  be 
remarked  that  the  Sunday-school  has  strong  claims 
upon  the  pastor,  which  call  for  frequent  presentation 
through  the  pulpit. 

1.  It  is  a  pastor's  duty  to  impress  upon  the  parents 
of  a  community  the  duty  of  sending  their  children 
regularly  to  the  Sunday-school,  and  also  of  co-oper- 
ating, by  faithful  home  instruction,  to  fasten  sacred 
truth  upon  their  minds. 

2.  The  pastor  should  set  forth  the  honor  and  dig- 
nity of  the  Sunday-school  teacher's  office,  and  in  all 
cases  of  need  should  personally  enlist  teachers  to  fill 
vacancies  or  to  organize  new  classes  and  schools. 

3.  The  pastor,  whenever  occasion  requires,  should 
co-operate  efficiently  in  raising  funds  in  ample  amount 
for  all  necessary  Sunday-school  purposes. 

4.  He  should  aid,  by  his  personal  and  intelligent 
advice,  in  selecting  books  and  periodicals  for  the  use 
of  the  Sunday-school  scholars  and  teachers,  including 
ample  and  suitable  libraries  for  teachers, 

5.  He  should  give  proper  counsel  as  to  the  selec- 
tions of  lessons  and  plans  of  instruction  to  be  pursued 
in  the  school. 

6.  He  should  be  both  ingenious  and  discreet  in  de- 
vising plans  to  interest  and  profit  the  Sunday-school ; 
on  the  one  hand  seeing  that  a  suitable  variety  of  ex- 
ercises is  secured,  and  on  the  other  guarding  against 
needless  and  profitless  changes. 

One  of  the  ways  in  which  new  interest  is   some- 


368  TO  HIS  SUNDA  Y-SCHOOL. 

times  promoted  in  a  Sunday-school  is  by  the  publi- 
cation of  a  Sunday-school  annual,  in  which  items  of 
special  interest  to  the  teachers  and  scholars  of  a 
school  are  coupled  with  a  pastoral  address  or  whole- 
some religious  counsels  in  some  other  form. 

7.  A  pastor  should  accustom  himself  to  give  brief 
and  pertinent  addresses  in  his  Sunday-school,  and 
also  to  preach  to  children  on  fitting  occasions,  using 
map  and  blackboard  illustrations  freely  and  forcibly. 

8.  He  should  encourage  the  study  of  the  cate- 
chism in  his  Sunday-school,  and  should  arrange  for 
catechising  the  children  both  in  special  and  general 
exercises,  thus  making  it  sure  that  they  all  under- 
stand the  great  principles  of  Christian  doctrine,  and 
can  vindicate  them  by  Scripture  proofs.  It  is  also 
an  excellent  practice  for  a  pastor  to  question  children 
and  young  persons  upon  the  catechism  in  a  pleasant 
manner,  as  he  may  meet  them  occasionally  at  their 
homes  or  elsewhere,  thus  accustoming  himself  to 
great  familiarity  with  the  elements  of  Christian  truth. 

9.  The  pastor  should  maintain,  personally  or  by 
aid  of  his  Sunday-school  superintendent,  a  regular 
teachers'  Bible-class,  in  which  the  successive  lessons 
of  the  Sunday-school  may  be  thoroughly  discussed 
and  the  best  modes  of  teaching  suggested. 

10.  In  order  to  acquire  and  maintain  the  highest 
degree  of  influence  in  his  Sunday-school,  and  to  be 
sure  of  making  the  most  of  his  opportunities  in  con- 
nection with  the  great  and  progressive  enterprise  of 
Sunday-school  instruction,  the  pastor  should  read  up 
on  the  subject,  securing  both  from  periodicals  and 
from   books  the  best  ideas   of   the  most  successful 


GENERAL  SUNDA  Y-SCHOOL  RELA  TIONS.        369 

workers  and  writers  engaged  in  the  Sunday-school 
cause.  For  the  same  object,  and  also  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  to  others  the  results  of  his  own  ex- 
perience, it  will  be  well  for  him  to  participate  in 
Sunday-school  conventions  from  time  to  time. 

II.  Especially  should  the  pastor  be  watchful  of 
the  religious  interests  of  his  own  Sunday-school, 
and  endeavor  by  all  appropriate  means  to  lead  both 
teachers  and  scholars  to  a  personal  knowledge  of 
their  sins  forgiven,  and  to  an  early  identification 
with  the  Church  of  Christ.  To  this  end  he  should 
have  personal  religious  conversation  with  as  many 
as  possible,  organizing  all  children  of  serious  pur- 
poses into  classes,  with  suitable  leaders,  who  will 
instruct  and  encourage  them  in  ways  of  piety  and 
Christian  duty. 

Such  are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  faithful 
])astor  may  make  his  Sunday-school  indeed  a  nurs- 
ery for  Christians,  and  a  most  efficient  agency  for 
strengthening  and  enlarging  the  Church  of  God.* 

While  the  pastor  should  be  thus  diligent  in  the 
care  and  aid  of  his  own  Sunday-school,  he  should 
also  take  into  view  the  relations  of  the  school  and 
its  operations  to  the  great  system  of  Sunday-school 
instruction  throughout  the  Church  to  which  he  be- 
longs, and,  indeed,  throughout  the  nation  and  the 
world.  In  no  Christian  enterprise  has  the  advantage 
of  union  of  spirit  and  effort  been  already  more  exten- 

*  See  a  valuable  series  of  articles  on  the  duties  of  a  pastor  to  his 
Sunday-school,  recently  published  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Vincent  in  the  Sun- 
day-School Journal,  New  York.  It  ought  to  be  issued  in  pamphlet 
f  )rm,  for  the  convenient  reading  and  consultation  of  all  pastors. 


370  BEARING   ON  CHURCH  GROWTH.  ^ 

sively  and  happily  secured  than  in  the  Sunday-school 
cause.  As  a  result,  great  unity  of  public  sentiment 
and  great  cordiality  of  mutual  co-operation  have  been 
attained,  accompanied  with  innumerable  advantages 
to  the  cause  itself,  and  also  to  the  general  interests 
of  Christianity  throughout  the  world.  Thus  the  Sun- 
day-schools of  the  last  half  century  have  been  the 
grand  agency  of  supply  for  missionary  laborers  in  all 
the  lands  where  Christianity  has  sought  to  supplant 
heathenism  and  false  religion. 

Sunday-schools  have  also  contributed  vast  amounts 
for  the  support  of  missions,  even  building  missionary 
ships,  and  freighting  them  with  missionaries,  and 
Bibles,  and  missionary  supplies  for  regions  out  of  the 
usual  routes  of  commerce.  But  more  than  all,  in  a 
financial  point  of  view,  they  have  accomplished  in 
educating  the  children  of  at  least  two  successive 
generations  to  systematic  beneficence.  When  a  sur- 
vey is  taken  of  the  vast  amounts  contributed  during 
recent  years  and  now  being  annually  given,  not 
only  to  foreign  missions,  but  to  home  evangelization, 
church-building,  education,  and  other  good  causes,  it 
is  only  just  to  remember  that  at  the  present  period 
the  great  majority  of  Church  members  are  those  who 
came  in  through  the  Sunday-school,  having  learned 
in  childhood  the  blessedness  of  giving.  Thus  it  is 
that  when  the  Church  imitates  the  Savior  by  "  taking 
little  children  in  her  arms  and  blessing  them"  she 
blesses  not  them  alone,  but  herself  also,  and  all  the 
enterprises  by  which  she  is  striving  to  enlighten  and 
save  a  dark  and  sinful  world.  In  the  experiment 
already  made,  and  now  making  in  connection  with 


W  MISSIONS.  371 


Sunday-schools  on  a  scale  of  ever-increasing  prom- 
ise, Christian  pastors  have  the  basis  of  a  reasonable 
and  confident  hope  for  the  wider  and  more  effectual 
spread  of  Christianity,  as  well  as  its  more  perfect 
exemplification  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  both  young 
and  old,  than  the  world  has  seen  hitherto.  In  the 
last  twenty-three  years  the  Sunday-school  statistics 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  alone  have  re- 
ported more  than  half  a  million  of  conversions  in 
our  Sunday-schools,  the  aggregate  falling  but  little 
short  of  the  total  increase  of  Church  members  dur- 
ing the  same  period.  Thus  it  appears  that  Sunday- 
schools  are  now,  and  may  be  expected  to  be  hereafter, 
the  great  source  of  supply  and  increase  of  Churches 
in  Christian  lands,  as  well  as  training-schools  for  the 
development  of  Christian  benevolence,  and  for  the 
raising  up  of  missionary  workers  for  both  the  home 
and  foreign  work.  Corresponding  to  this,  all  effective 
Christian  missions  find  Sunday-schools  essential  aux- 
iliaries in  the  work  of  evangelizing  heathen  nations, 
and  thus  they  are  being  established  all  over  the  world 
as  radiating  points  of  light  in  the  midst  of  the  moral 
darkness  of  paganism,  Mohammedanism,  and  a  cor- 
rupted Christianity. 

The  pastor  should  not  only  appreciate  the  world- 
wide relations  of  his  Sunday-school  and  the  system 
of  which  it  forms  a  part,  but  should  impress  these 
grand  and  soul-inspiring  ideas  upon  the  minds  of  his 
teachers  and  scholars,  thus  elevating  their  hopes,  en- 
nobling their  motives,  and  quickening  their  activities 
in  the  discharge  of  their  ever-recurring  and  often 
self-denying  duties. 


372  PASTORAL  SOLICI*rUDE. 

With  all  their  intrinsic  excellence,  Sunday-schools 
can  not,  of  themselves,  accomplish  the  full  mission 
for  which  they  are  designed  in  the  economy  of  the 
Church  and  the  providence  of  God.  The  pastor  is 
needed  in  the  Sunday-school.  His  paternal  eye  and 
guiding  hand  should  be  on  all  its  movements.  His 
heart  needs  to  be  alive  with  all  its  sympathies,  while 
his  wisest  foresight  and  his  tenderest  solicitudes 
should  be  constantly  and  systematically  engaged  to 
make  it  a  blessing  to  all  its  members,  and  to  the 
present  and  future  Church  of  Christ.  Moreover,  it 
is  only  by  systematic  and  continuous  efforts  on  the 
part  of  successive  pastors  that  some  of  the  higher 
and  cumulative  advantages  of  Sunday-schools  can  be 
realized.  Hence  what  is  said  to  one  should  be  said 
to  all:  Take  the  children  of  your  Churches  and  con- 
gregations and  nurse  them  for  God.  "Feed  Christ's 
lambs."  Be  specially  watchful  that  on  reaching  matu- 
rer  years  these  children  of  hope  and  love  do  not  stray 
from  the  fold.  One  of  the  best  modes  of  retaining 
advanced  scholars  in  the  Sunday-school  is  to  give 
them  something  to  do.  Hence  enlist  them  early  in 
various  co-operative  efforts  by  which  they  can  them- 
selves do  good  according  to  their  age  and  capacity. 
Also  impress  them  with  the  honor  and  privilege  of 
becoming  teachers  in  due  time,  and  thus,  by  all  legit- 
imate means,  identify  them  for  life  with  the  agency 
by  which  so  many  of  the  purest  joys  have  been 
mingled  with  their  own  earlier  and  advancing  years. 


POWER   OF  THE  PRESS.  373 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   PASTOR   AND    HIS    SYSTEM    OF    BOOK,    PERIOD- 
ICAL,  AND  TRACT  CIRCULATION. 

I  1\T  ^  pastor,  who  considers  the  great  power  of  the 
1  ^     press,  should  be  indifferent  to  the  possibility  of 
enlisting  its  influence  in  aid  of  the  various  branches 
of  his  work,  while  also  employing  due  caution  to  guards 
against  the  evils  liable  to  arise  from  the  same  source,\ 

Some  pastors,  through  narrow  views  of  their  privi- 
leges and  obligations,  in  reference  to  this  subject,  fall 
into  two  serious  errors  :  i.  That  of  suffering  their  re- 
ligious influence  to  be  thwarted  by  publications  of 
an  exceptionable  character;  2.  That  of  neglecting  to 
strengthen  and  enlarge  the  effect  of  their  teachings 
by  taking  measures  to  promote  the  right  kind  of  read- 
ing among  their  people. 

While,  on  the  one  hand,  it  is  obvious  that  pastors 
should  not  attempt  any  arbitrary  control  over  the 
reading  of  those  to  whom  they  have  access  ;  on  the 
other,  it  is  equally  obvious  that,  as  a  moral  duty,  they 
should  feel  bound  to  warn  their  people  against  the 
evils  of  bad  and  indiscriminate  reading  as  much  as 
against  any  other  influences  by  which  their  morals 
might  be  corrupted,  their  principles  undermined,  or 
their  lives  made  wretched. 
.  As  it  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  use  the  full  force 


374  ^^^  PASTOR  A    WATCHMAN. 

of  moral  suasion  to  guard  their  fellow-beings  from 
intemperance  and  other  vices,  so  it  is  none  the  less 
their  duty  to  employ  the  same  influence  to  counteract 
or  render  nugatory  the  views  of  secularism  and  infi- 
delity which  are  so  insidiously  infused  into  the  popular 
reading  of  the  day.  Who  is  responsible  in  this  matter 
if  a  Christian  pastor  is  not  ?  Is  he  set  as  a  watchman 
upon  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  unable  to  discern 
the  danger  of  bad  reading — a  cause  by  which  thou- 
sands in  this  age  are  enfeebled  in  mind,  vitiated  in 
purpose,  and  ultimately  led  captive  by  the  devil  at  his 
own  will  ?  "  If  the  watchman  see  the  sword  come, 
and  blow  not  the  trumpet,  and  the  people  be  not 
warned ;  if  the  sword  come,  and  take  any  person  from 
among  them,  he  is  taken  away  in  his  iniquity ;  but  his 
blood  will  I  require  at  the  watchman's  hand."  Ezek. 
xxxiii,  6.  Indeed,  the  pastor,  on  the  peril  of  his  soul, 
is  bound  to  give  intelligent  and  faithful  warning  to  his 
hearers  of  the  danger  lurking  in  many  insidious  and 
fascinating  forms  of  literary  composition.  If,  at  the 
same  time,  he  can  convince  them  of  the  essential 
value  of  truth,  and  the  great  importance  of  expanding 
and  fortifying  their  minds  with  the  instructive  lessons 
wrought  out  for  their  advantage  by  able  writers,  his 
work  will  be  all  the  better  done.  While  no  Christian 
congregation  would  object  to  faithful  warnings  on  this 
subject,  neither  would  it  be  deemed  out  of  place  for 
a  pastor,  at  an  appropriate  time,  to  exhort  the  heads 
of  Christian  families  to  guard  their  households  by 
putting  and  keeping  away  whatever  might  be  of  evil 
or  doubtful  tendency  in  regard  to  truth  or  morals. 
Corresponding  to   this   negative   action,   for  lack  of 


HOME  LIBRARIES.  375 

which  many  Christian  homes  are  polluted  worse  than 
if  pervaded  with  the  frogs  of  Egypt,  well-meaning 
people  should  be  persuaded  of  the  importance  of  good 
and  ample  family  libraries.  Here  is  a  matter  greatly 
overlooked ;  and,  because  it  is  overlooked,  the  minds 
of  thousands  of  young  persons  are  either  left  idle  or 
filled  with  desires  for  foolish  and  hurtful  amusements, 
and  thus  laid  open  to  the  wiles  of  the  devil. 

If  the  Christian  pastors  of  America  would  lift  up 
their  voices  on  this  subject,  so  as  to  persuade  their 
hearers  who  have  homes  to  supply  them  bountifully 
with  a  wholesome  scientific  and  Christian  literature, 
what  an  advance  would  be  gained  toward  the  estab- 
lishment of  truth  and  virtue  in  the  land !  Parental 
obligation  can  not  be  too  clearly  defined  in  reference 
to  the  books  which  children  are  allowed  to  read,  and 
if  parental  example  is  only  right  and  active  in  refer- 
ence to  this  matter,  there  will  be  comparatively  little 
difficulty  in  forming  the  habits  of  children  after  the 
right  model.  Happily  we  live  at  a  period  when  a 
wholesome  Christian  literature  is  in  abundant  supply, 
and  within  the  means  of  most  persons  who  may  desire 
to  possess  it.  Best  of  all,  the  Church  has  not  been 
indifferent  to  its  obligations  in  this  regard,  but  has 
furnished  from  its  official  press  hundreds  of  volumes 
well  adapted  to  the  promotion  of  religious  knowledge, 
of  devotional  improvement,  and  of  mental  and  moral 
elevation.  The  great  lack  is  an  inadequate  diffiasion 
of  these  volumes  in  the  families  of  the  members  and 
friends  of  the  Church.  Formerly,  our  people  were 
proportionately  much  better  supplied  with  religious 
literature  than  at  present,  and  the  reason  was,  that, 


376  CHRISTIAN  LITER  A  TURE, 

although  good  books  were  fewer  and  dearer,  ministers 
then  made  it  a  part  of  their  business  to  keep  the  peo- 
ple supplied  with  them.  The  example  and  precepts 
of  Mr.  Wesley  in  this  regard  were  above  all  praise. 
He  was  in  advance  of  the  age  of  cheap  publications 
and  of  societies  organized  for  the  printing  and  diffusion 
of  evangelical  truth,  but  he  anticipated  most  of  their 
measures  by  printing  good  books  on  his  own  account, 
and  encouraging  his  helpers  to  disseminate  them. 
His  followers  in  America  followed  his  example  in 
that  respect.  Hence  the  origin  of  the  efficient  and 
growing  book  agencies  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  But  within  recent  years  a  change  has  grad- 
ually taken  place  in  the  habits  of  ministers,  which 
needs  now  to  be  guarded,  lest  it  permanently  result 
in  a  reaction  unfriendly  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  cause  of  God.  Receiving  an  im- 
proved support,  pastors  have  become  unwilling  to  sell 
books  for  profit,  and  having  other  numerous  and 
weighty  duties  they  have,  to  a  large  extent,  ceased  to 
make  any  efforts  to  supply  their  people  with  religious 
reading,  in  the  form  of  books.  At  the  same  time  the 
canvass  for  miscellaneous  books,  many  of  them  of  a 
doubtful,  and  even  worse  than  doubtful,  character,  has 
become  active  and  all-pervading.  The  consequence 
is,  that  the  homes  of  thousands  of  our  Church  mem- 
bers are  supplied  with  trashy  and  sensational  books, 
while  the  solid  and  valuable  volumes  published  by 
our  Book  Concerns  and  various  other  religious  pub- 
'ishers  are  within  those  homes  unseen  and  unknown. 
If  this  state  of  things  is  to  go  on  unremedied,  who 
can  tell  what  loss  the  Church  will  suffer !     Happily, 


REMEDY  FOR  A   GREAT  EVIL.  I'J'J 

there  is  a  remedy,  and  that  remedy  is  found  in  direct 
conjunction  with  the  various  obligations  and  motives 
of  pastoral  duty.  Nor  is  it  difficult  of  attainment. 
If  the  pastor  has  not  time  to  attend  personally  to  the 
circulation  and  supply  of  religious  books,  as  will  most 
generally  be  the  case,  he  can  find  two  ways  of  accom- 
plishing that  result  without  interfering  with  his  time 
or  curtailing  his  attention  to  other  duties.  The  first 
is  by  a  committee,  as  in  the  case  of  any  other  Church 
work,  and  the  second  is  by  commissioning  some  wor- 
thy but  needy  person  who  will  make  the  proper  can- 
vass and  secure  a  reasonable  compensation  for  so  doing. 
As  there  are  very  few  Churches  in  which  there  are 
not  persons  who  would  deem  it  a  great  favor  to  be  en- 
couraged in  such  a  work,  let  the  second  mode  be  con- 
sidered with  reference  to  actual  practice.  Let  it  be 
presumed  that  the  agent,  or  colporteur,  has  neither 
means  nor  pecuniary  credit  to  invest  in  a  stock  of 
books  in  advance,  but  will  take  the  trouble  to  secure 
orders.  The  pastor  may,  without  cost,  secure  for  his 
or  her  use  a  sufficient  number  of  priced 
and  descriptive  catalogues,  and  may,  by  ""=*- — 
kind  words  to  the  public  congregation,  open  up  the 
way  of  the  agent  for  a  successful  canvass,  showing 
that  a  liberal  purchase  of  good  books  will  be  both  a 
charity  to  the  individual  about  to  call  on  them  and  a 
duty  to  themselves.  Such  a  course  of  proceeding  as 
this,  or  something  equivalent  to  it  which  ought  to  be 
repeated  every  year,  if  not  oftener,  is  at  once  so  easy 
and  so  unobjectionable  that  it  seems  difficult  to  con- 
ceive how  a  well-meaning  pastor  can  reconcile  his 
conscience  and  leave  it  untried. 

32 


378  PERIODICALS, 

"  To  him  that  knoweth  to  do  good  and  doeth  it  not, 
to  him  it  is  sin,"  and  to  neglect  the  instruction  of  a 
Christian  congregation  in  matters  pertaining  to  their 
intellectual  life  and  the  proper  aliment  for  their  men- 
tal and  moral  natures,  is  an  omission  of  pastoral  duty 
which  ought  not  to  be  hazarded.  Nevertheless,  it 
wouM  be  well  for  young  and  new  pastors,  before 
preaching  upon  the  subject  of  reading,  or  instituting 
measures  for  the  circulation  of  books,  to  ascertain 
what  has  been  said  and  done  by  their  predecessors,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  adapt  their  words  and  efforts  to  the 
actual  condition  of  things,  and  avoid  any  liability  to 
mistakes. 

The  remarks  above  made  apply  to  periodicals  as 
well  as  books,  and  perhaps  with  still  greater  force. 
Every  Christian  family  should  receive  regularly  a 
good  religious  newspaper,  and,  if  possible,  one  or  more 
magazines  of  a  Christian  character,  adapted  to  the 
special  wants  and  tastes  of  different  members  of  the 
household.  When  a  Church  provides  officially  and 
suitably  for  this  necessity  of  its  members,  it  is  a  nat- 
ural and  reciprocal  duty  of  Church  members  to  pat- 
ronize the  periodicals  of  the  Church,  and  thereby  put 
themselves  in  sympathetic  connection  with  the  whole 
body  of  which  they  form  a  part.  The  mutual  advan- 
tages of  such  an  arrangement  will  be  felt  in  every 
department  of  Church  enterprise,  and  will  greatly 
facilitate  pastoral  success  in  countless  ways.  For  in- 
stance, if  the  families  of  a  Church  have  generally  read 
up  the  current  missionary  intelligence  of  any  given 
year,  the  task  of  the  pastor  in  preaching  his  annual 
missionary  sermon  is  essentially  modified  and  his  labor 


PASTORAL  HELPS, 


379 


lessened  in  comparison  with  what  would  be  necessary 
when  such  reading  had  not  taken  place.  Again,  a 
Church  whose  members  have  been  cheered  by  reading 
revival  intelligence  from  kindred  Churches  in  various 
parts  of  the  land,  has  its  faith  encouraged  and  its 
hopes  quickened  for  active  and  successful  efforts  at 
home.  So  in  respect  to  any  Church  interest  or  branch 
of  labor,  the  mind  is  expanded  and  the  heart  refreshed 
by  reliable  agencies  of  communication  with  y^,^,^  of  reiig- 
fellow-Christians  in  different  parts  of  the  i^^^P^P^*^- 
country,  and  of  the  world.  Hew  narrow,  on  the  other 
hand,  must  be  the  mental  sphere  of  those  who  have 
no  such  means  of  communication  with  their  fellow- 
Christians,  and  how  little  capable  of  entering  into 
the  just  and  proper  sympathies  of  the  Church  to 
which  they  belong  are  those  whose  periodical  reading 
belongs  to  some  outside  sphere,  from  which  they 
are  liable  to  receive  prejudices  and  counter-influences 
that  may,  ere  they  are  aware,  do  them  great  harm! 
From  these  and  many  kindred  considerations  pastors 
may  infer  how  important  it  is  for  them  to  use  their 
best  influence  to  secure  the  most  extensive  circulation 
of  their  own  Church  periodicals  as  helps  in  their  indi- 
vidual work  and  as  means  of  good  to  their  people. 

Corroborative  of  these  views  is  the  following  decla- 
ration of  a  pastor  in  the  West,  recently  published: 

"In  a  ministry  of  fifteen  years  I  have  become  thoroughly 
convinced  by  painful  experience  that  nearly  all  of  our  troubles 
from  disaffected  ones  come  from  those  who  do  not  take,  our 
religious  papers.  I  have  found  by  actual  experience  that  proba- 
tioners in  families  where  our  Church  papers  are  taken  are  the 
most  apt  to  become  permanent  members,  and  that  children  of 
parents  who  read  our  periodicals  are  the  most  easily  brought 


380  CHRISTIAN  TRACTS. 

into  the  Church.  I  here  record  the  fact  that  a  minister  has  no 
more  efficient  helpers  in  every  department  of  his  work  than  our 
regular  weekly  Advocates." 

In  addition  to  the  good  that  may  be  done  by  in- 
ducing the  families  of  Churches  and  congregations  to 
supply  themselves  with  religious  books  and  period- 
icals, is  the  great  enterprise  of  tract  and  volume 
CIRCULATION  as  an  agency  of  evangelization.  Ex- 
periments extending  through  the  greater  part  of  a 
century  have  proved  this  to  be  a  means  of  inestima- 
ble value  for  reaching  various  classes  of  persons  who 
do  not  attend  upon  public  worship,  and  who,  but  for 
the  printed  page,  might  be  inaccessible  to  religious 
truth.  The  reference  already  made  to  Mr.  Wesley 
as  having  provided  for  the  circulation  of  religious 
books,  has  equal  pertinence  in  reference  to  the  writ- 
ing and  publication  of  religious  tracts,  in  which  he 
successfully  led  the  way  some  years  before  the  ori- 
gin of  that  excellent  institution,  the  Religious  Tract 
Society  of  Great  Britain.  Following  his  example, 
the  Methodists  of  England  and  America  have  done 
much,  but  never  enough,  in  the  enterprise  now  under 
consideration.  They  have  also  gladly  witnessed  the 
zeal  of  other  bodies  of  Christians  in  printing  and 
circulating  religious  truth  in  popular  forms  for  the 
awakening  of  the  careless  and  the  instruction  of 
the  ignorant.  The  records  of  the  tract  enterprise,  as 
a  whole,  are  full  of  intense  interest,  illustrating  in 
every  imaginable  sphere  of  effort  the  possibility  of 
reaching  the  lowest  and  rousing  the  most  debased  of 
human  kind  to  seek  the  salvation  of  their  souls  and 
to  commence  the  service  of  God. 


RECIPROCAL  ADVANTAGES.  38 1 

But  religious  tracts,  however  intrinsically  excellent, 
are,  like  the  word  of  God,  dependent  upon  human 
agency  for  their  circulation.  This  dependency,  how- 
ever, develops  one  of  the  great  duties  and  privileges 
of  Christians  in  the  necessity  of  effort  to  bring  the 
contents  of  the  printed  page  to  the  attention  of  those 
who  need  to  read  and  understand  them.  Thus  it  is 
that  the  offices  of  tract-distributers,  loan-agents,  col- 
porteurs, and  Bible-readers  have  been  developed  as  a 
necessity  of  the  modern  Church.  Thus,  also,  the 
fact  has  often  been  demonstrated  that  they  who  bless 
others  by  these  instrumentalities  usually  secure  as 
great  if  not  greater  blessings  themselves  from  their 
self-denying  efforts. 

VSo  thoroughly  is  the  system  of  tract  circulation 
approved  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  that 
every  one  of  its  pastors  is  required,  by  disciplinary 
rules,  to  form  a  Tract  Society  in  his  charge,  to  raise 
funds  to  procure  and  disti^ibute  tracts,  and  thereby 
encourage  tract  publication^  to  co-operate  with  the 
general  tract  agency  of  the  Church  by  taking  and 
reporting  tract  collections ;  and  also  to  have  a  Tract 
Committee  as  advisers  and  coadjutors  in  this  depart- 
ment of  evangelical  effort.  It  is,  however,  extremely 
desirable  that  pastors  not  only  discharge  these  duties 
because  required  to  do  so,  but  from  an  intelligent 
appreciation  of  the  advantages  that  may  be  expected 
to  result  from  them,  both  in  their  regular  pastoral 
work  and  in  various  forms  of  home  missionary  effort. 
Hence,  they  would  do  well  to  study  carefully  the 
whole  subject  as  it  is  presented,  both  in  a  theoretical 
and   practi-cal   point  of  view,    in   the    Manual   and 


382  USES  OF  TRACTS. 

Other  official  publications  of  the  Tract  Society  of  the 
Church.  Indeed,  every  pastor  ought  not  only  to  be 
famihar  with  these  documents,  but  to  keep  them  on 
hand,  together  with  a  full  catalogue  of  tract  publica- 
The  pastor's  tious,  ready  for  convenient  reference.  By 
arsenal.  their  aid,  he  may  determine  what  mate- 

rial is  available  for  any  special  use,  and  secure,  by 
mail  or  otherwise,  any  number  of  copies  of  such 
particular  tracts  as  may  be  wanted.  Should  experi- 
ence at  any  time  indicate  the  want  of  a  tract  not 
already  provided,  the  pastor  will  do  well  to  write  one, 
in  view  of  his  actual  wants,  and  it  may  prove  not 
only  useful  to  him  but  to  thousands  of  others.  The 
best  tracts  have  originated  in  actual  necessities  or  on 
the  suggestion  of  circumstances,  and  no  mortal  can 
foresee  the  good  that  may  result  from  a  tract  writ- 
ten under  a  true  inspiration  and  with  a  single  aim 
to  glorify  God. 

While  no  pastor  should  be  content  until  sys- 
tematic and  efficient  tract  and  volume  circulation 
is  organized  in  his  field  of  labor,  neither  should  he 
omit  any  opportunity  to  encourage,  both  by  precept 
and  example,  various  other  modes  of  tract  distribu- 
tion, which  have  often  been  greatly  blessed  as  agen- 
cies of  good.  Of  these,  the  following  may  be  in- 
stanced : 

1.  The  inclosure  of  Christian  leaflets  in  letters. 

2.  The  distribution  of  religious  reading  matter  on 
public  thoroughfares  and  while  traveling. 

3.  The  sending  out  of  tracts  and  Christian  papers 
through  various  channels  of  commerce,  as  in  pack- 
ages of  merchandise,  or,  what  is  better,  by  personal 


RESULTS  OF  SYSTEM,  3S3 

gift  to  friends  and  strangers.  This  principle  and  its 
application  are  illustrated  by  the  following,  among 
many  similar  statements : 

"A  gentleman  who  was  ticket-agent  at  an  important  railroad 
station  for  five  years,  spent  annually  fifty  dollars  in  the  purchase 
of  tracts  for  distribution.  He  made  it  a  rule  to  give  a  tract  with 
each  ticket  sold.  He  afterward  received  letters  from  twenty-two 
persons  who  had  received  tracts  from  him,  stating  that  they  had 
been  the  means  of  their  conversion." 

In  looking  at  the  enterprise  of  tract  circulation  as 
herewith  presented,  let  no  one  be  discouraged  in  ad- 
vance at  its  apparent  magnitude.  System  will  sim- 
plify its  details  and  render  all  its  workings  easy, 
while  its  encouragements  will  cheer  the  hearts  of 
all  engaged  in  the  tasks  it  imposes,  and  nerve  them 
to  increasing  effort.  The  Sunday-school  scholar,  for 
instance,  who  is  educated  to  religious  activity  in 
tract  distribution,  is  put  in  a  direct  course  of  train- 
ing for  active  missionary  work  in  mature  life,  and  as 
the  result  of  his  early  and  later  labors  hundreds  may 
be  raised  up  to  take  his  place  when  he  goes  to  his 
reward. 


384  OBJECTS  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   PASTOR  AND   HIS   LAY    HELPERS. 

THE  Church  of  Christ  was  not  instituted  for  the 
enactment  of  ceremonies,  but  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  results.  The  results  at  which  it  aimed  in  the 
beginning,  and  was  ever  designed  to  aim,  were  two- 
fold—  internal  and  external.  Of  the  former  the  per- 
sonal salvation  of  its  members,  including  their  in- 
struction in  the  truth  and  their  experience  of  its 
power,  must  be  named  as  first  and  most  comprehen- 
sive. Toward  this  object,  the  privileges  of  worship 
and  the  duty  of  maintaining  the  sacred  ordinances, 
together  with  mutual  watch-care  and  fellowship,  point 
continually.  But  even  these  internal  benefits  were 
designed  to  have  an  external  bearing,  and  to  pre- 
pare the  Church  as  a  whole  and  its  members  as 
individuals  to  work  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 
Internally,  the  Church  needs  to  be  pure  and  zealous, 
in  order  that  externally  it  may  be  aggressive.  The 
fire  of  divine  truth  and  grace  needs  to  burn  brightly 
on  the  altars  of  the  sanctuary  in  order  that  a  pure 
flame  may  be  thence  diffused  to  illuminate  a  dark 
world.  The  prophet  Isaiah,  anticipating  the  true 
spirit  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  whose 
advent  and  character  he  so  clearly  foretold,  said,  "  For 


GOOD    WORKS  DEMANDED.  385 

Zion's  sake  will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  and  for  Jerusa- 
lem's sake  I  will  not  rest,  until  the  righteousness 
thereof  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  the  salvation 
thereof  as  a  lamp  that  burneth.  And  the  Gentiles 
shall  see  thy  righteousness,  and  all  kings  thy  glory." 
Isaiah  Ixii,  i,  2. 

The  Savior  embodied  these  prophetic  longings  in 
the  great  commission  which  through  the  apostles  di- 
rected the  Church  to  "go,"  "preach,"  and  "teach,"  and 
thus  diffuse  light  and  life  throughout  the  regions  of 
moral  darkness  and  death.  Of  this  work  Christ, 
as  the  Head  and  Founder  of  the  Church,  was  him- 
self a  living  example.  The  apostolic  Church  followed 
in  his  footsteps.  Witness  the  Pentecostal  revival,  and 
when  that  was  checked  by  persecution,  mark  how 
the  disciples  "  that  were  scattered  abroad  went  every- 
where preaching  the  word."  The  whole  record  of  the 
preaching  and  pastoral  counsel  of  the  apostles  indi- 
cates that  they  sought  to  found  and  train  up  work- 
ing Churches.  The  divine  addresses  to  the  seven 
Churches  of  Asia  Minor  show  that  "  He  that  holdeth 
the  seven  stars  in  His  right  hand,  who  walketh  in  the 
midst  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks,"  has  an  intent 
regard  upon  the  works  of  His  Churches.  "  Unto  the 
angel  of  the  Church  of  Ephesus  write,  I  know  thy 
works  and  thy  labor,  and  thy  patience,  and^how  thou 
canst  not  bear  them  which  are  evil ;  and  thou  hast 
tried  them  which  say  they  are  apostles,  and  are  not ; 
and  hast  found  them  liars  :  and  hast  borne,  and  hast 
patience,  and  for  my  name's  sake  hast  labored,  and 
hast  not  fainted.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  Church  in 
Pergamos  write  :  These  things  saith  he  which  hath  the 

33 


386  ORGANIZATION  NEEDED. 

sharp  sword  with  two  edges  ;  I  know  thy  works,  and 
where  thou  dwellest,  even  where  Satan's  seat  is :  and 
thou  holdest  fast  my  name,  and  hast  not  denied  my 
faith,  even  in  those  days  wherein  Antipas  was  my  faith- 
ful martyr  and  was  slain  among  you.  And  unto  the 
angel  of  the  Church  in  Thyatira  write  ;  These  things 
saith  the  Son  of  God,  who  hath  his  eyes  like  unto  a 
flame  of  fire,  and  his  feet  are  like  fine  brass  ;  I  know 
thy  works,  and  charity,  and  service,  and  faith,  and  thy 
patience,  and  thy  works  ;  and  the  last  to  be  more  than 
the  first."     Rev.  ii,  2,  3;  ii,  12,  13  ;  ii,  18,  19. 

While  the  solemn  charges  thus  given  indicate  that 
even  good  works  may  be  corrupted,  and  at  their  best 
estate  are  not  meritorious  for  salvation,  yet  they  make 
it  manifest  that  every  Christian  Church  is  expected 
to  work  for  God  and  in  behalf  of  mankind,  and  also 
that  the  angel  or  minister  of  each  Church  is  in  a  high 
degree   responsible   for  its   character  and   usefulness. 

Whether,  therefore,  we  consider  the  internal  or  ex- 
ternal objects  of  Church  work,  not  merely  anxious  de- 
sires, but  earnest  activity,  individual  and  collective, 
must  be  considered  the  rule  of  its  life  and  duty.  But 
work  on  any  extensive  scale  requires  organization  and 
direction,  and  thus  it  is  that  the  Christian  Church 
needs  to  be  an  organized  body  in  which  there  shall 
be  a  suitable  allotment  of  tasks  and  a  recognized  di- 
rection. The  work  of  God  on  earth  being  committed 
to  his  Church,  the  organization  of  every  branch  of  the 
Church  and  of  every  individual  Church  connected  with 
every  branch,  should  be  made  with  reference  to  Chris- 
tian activity  and  usefulness  in  the  various  forms  which 
are  possible.      In   this  way  the  greatest  amount  of 


A  PASTOR'S  RESPONSIBILITIES.  387 

individual  responsibility  may  be  harmonized  with  the 
largest  advantage  of  union.  As  in  union  there  is 
strength,  so  the  more  perfectly  the  members  of  any 
Church  are  united  in  heart  and  action  the  greater  will 
be  their  success  in  doing  the  work  of  the  Lord. 

In  the  light  of  these  principles  every  pastor  should 
understand  both  the  importance  and  the  mode  of 
organizing  Christian  effort  in  all  those  forms  which 
promise  either  to  improve  the  piety  or  the  usefulness 
of  his  membei'ship.  The  Sunday-school  and  tract 
enterprises,  as  already  referred  to,  are  examples,  but 
only  examples  of  what  may  be  done  in  this  matter. 

It  falls  within  the  scope  of  this  chapter  to  consider 
practically,  though  briefly,  several  forms  of  Church 
activity,  both  regular  and  occasional,  which  need  to 
be  well  understood  by  any  one  to  whom  is  committed 
a  pastoral  charge.  While  it  is  impossible  for  a  pastor 
to  conceive  too  highly  of  his  responsibilities,  he  could 
hardly  make  a  greater  mistake  than  to  imagine  that 
all  the  responsibility  for  Church  work  rests  on  himself 
alone.  If  a  general  were  to  do  all  the  fighting,  what 
need  would  he  have  of  an  army.'*  So  in  the  Church, 
*'  if  they  were  all  one  member,  where  were  the  body } 
But  now  are  they  many  members  yet  but  one  body." 
Thus  the  apostle  teaches  that  while  Christians  col- 
lectively form  the  one  body  called  the  Church,  yet 
God  hath  appointed  his  ministers,  apostles,  prophets, 
and  teachers  to  maintain  the  office  of  government  and 
guidance  for  the  Church,  as  the  head  does  for  the 
body.  Here,  then,  is  a  peculiar  responsibility  of  the 
pastor,  which  is  far  more  important  for  him  to  fulfill 
than  to  exhaust  himself  in  doing  work  which  others 


388  DEPARTMENTS  OF  AID, 

can  do  quite  as  advantageously  for  the  cause  of  Christ 
and  much  more  advantageously  for  themselves.  Ex- 
ercise is  a  law  of  spiritual  as  well  as  of  physical 
health.  It  would  consequently  be  as  great  an  injury 
to  Christians  to  refuse  to  them  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
ercising themselves  unto  godliness  as  to  deny  them 
spiritual  food. 

Not  only,  therefore,  must  pastors  avoid  repressing 
the  zeal  and  activity  of  Christians  of  every  grade  of 
experience,  but  they  must  seek  to  give  suitable  em- 
ployment to  each  one  in  his  proper  sphere.  This  can 
never  be  done  effectively  without  system.  Aware  of 
this,  the  Church  has  adopted  and  prescribed  to  her 
pastors  a  general  system  of  procedure  which,  as  the 
result  of  accumulated  experiences,  is  far  better  than 
could  be  expected  to  result  from  the  separate  action 
of  thousands  of  individuals. 

The  system  of  our  Church  in  respect  to  the  co- 
operation of  lay  talent  covers  the  three  great  depart- 
ments of  I.  Finance.  II.  Pastoral  aid.  III.  Evan- 
gelization. 

In  reference  to  finance,  it  requires  the  appointment 
of  stewards,  who  are  charged  with  providing  for  pas- 
toral support  and  the  care  of  the  poor ;  trustees,  who 
hold  the  real  estate  of  the  Church,  both  church  edi- 
fices and  parsonages  ;  and  also  committees  to  aid  in 
making  collections,  as  for  missions,  tracts,  and  Sun- 
day-schools. For  pastoral  aid  class-leaders  are  ap- 
pointed in  every  Church  —  persons  of  maturity  in 
religious  experience,  under  whose  assisting  watch- 
care  the  whole  membership  is  subdivided  for  weekly 
meetings,  visits,  and  rehgious  counsel.     For  aggress- 


FINANCE.  389 

ive  local  evangelism,  exhorters  and  local  preachers 
are  officially  licensed,  and  preach  under  the  direction 
of  the  preacher  in  charge.  This  system  has  had  a 
hundred  years  of  effective  and  satisfactory  trial  in 
America,  and  notwithstanding  much  recent  investi- 
gation of  the  subject  involved,  and  an  extensive  com- 
parison of  views  among  Christians  of  different  de- 
nominations, both  in  private  interviews  and  in  public 
conventions,  it  does  not  seem  likely  to  be  superseded 
or  greatly  improved  upon  by  any  new  invention  of  the 
present  period.  Nevertheless  this  system  should  not 
be  narrowly  construed .  or  exclusively  worked.  Our 
ministers  have  always  been  free  to  experiment  in  what- 
ever promised  well  as  a  means  of  doing  good,  and  as  a 
result  many  peculiar  applications  and  extensions  of 
the  system  have  been  found  practicable  in  peculiar 
circumstances. 

Of  the  more  important  of  these  some  account  will 
now  be  given,  designed  to  serve  as  suggestions,  not 
for  any  substitution  of  our  well-established  system,  but 
for  the  more  effective  working  and  more  extensive 
application  of  it  by  means  of  such  additions  and  minor 
variations  as  are  found  adapted  to  our  growing  num- 
bers and  the  somewhat  changed  and  changing  aspects 
of  society. 

I.  As  to  FINANCE,  the  great  duty  of  a  pastor  is  to 
give  to  his  people  full  and  explicit  instruction  in  the 
principles  of  Christian  philanthropy  and  systematic 
beneficence,  illustrated  by  a  proper  example  on  his 
own  part.  This  kind  of  instruction  should  not  be 
limited  to  occasions  demanding  pecuniary  offerings, 
but  should   be  so   interfused  with  the  religious  all- 


390  DUTY  OF  GIVING. 

merit  of  the  Church  that  opportunities  to  give  will  be 
regarded  as  privileges  greatly  to  be  prized.  In  short, 
Christians,  instead  of  being  occasionally  pressed  and 
stimulated  to  large  religious  contributions,  should  be 
made  to  feel  that  doing  good  and  communicating  is 
the  great  business  of  their  life,  that  they  are  not 
their  own,  that  whatever  they  possess  they  hold  as 
stewards  of  the  divine  bounty,  subject  to  the  draft  of 
his  providence  and  the  necessities  of  his  kingdom  on 
earth.  To  make  money,  to  save  money,  and  to  give 
money  for  such  objects,  should  be  placed  before  every 
Christian  as  an  .important  and  indispensable  form  of 
Christian  work.  To  this  childhood  should  be  trained, 
in  it  youth  should  be  enlisted,  and  of  it  adult  Chris- 
tians should  never  be  allowed  to  lose  sight.  If  with 
such  instructions  there  be  coupled  a  feasible  and 
comprehensive  system  of  Church  finance,  not  only 
will  the  ministry  be  well  supported,  but  every  branch 
of  Christian  enterprise  amply  sustained.  On  this 
plan  the  entire  Church  and  congregation  should  be 
claimed  as  voluntary  helpers  in  every  good  work, 
Objects  of  lib-  whether  it  be  the  maintenance  of  public 
erahty.  worship  iu  a  community,  the  erection  of 

Christian  temples,  the  support  of  Sunday-schools,  the 
provision  of  Christian  tracts  and  books,  the  succor  of 
the  poor,  the  promotion  of  Christian  education,  or  the 
evangelization  of  pagans. 

Perfect  as  Christianity  is  in  theory,  its  most  posi- 
tive influence  is  found  in  the  practice  of  those  good 
works  by  which  its  principles  are  demonstrated  to 
be  superior  to  every  other  philosophy,  and  the  giand 
antagonism  of  the  debasing  selfishness  of  the  world. 


PLEDGES  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORK.  391 

It  was  on  this  wise  that  Christ  demonstrated  his 
Messiahship.  See  Matt,  xi,  2-6.  Although  the  days 
of  miracles  are  past,  yet  the  mission  of  Christianity 
is  still  the  same,  and  every  one  who  experiences  its 
grace  in  his  heart  should  be  taught  the  indispensable 
duty  of  exemplifying  its  fruits  in  his  daily  life.  As 
money  is  the  universal  medium  of  exchange,  so  it  is 
an  agency  of  every  species  of  Christian  usefulness, 
and  as  the  wealth  of  a  nation  is  promoted  by  the 
industry  and  economy  of  its  inhabitants,  so  the 
aggregate  power  of  the  Church  is  augmented  by  the 
personal  thriftiness,  liberality,  and  activity  of  each 
one  of  its  members.  Nor  are  such  obligations  left  to 
the  separate  inference  of  individual  members  of  the 
Church. 

The  following  was  recently  published  as  though  it 
embodied  a  new  discovery,  something  that  but  one 
minister  had  actually  thought  of  so  as  to  embody  it 
in  his  system  of  pastoral  administration: 

"There  is  a  minister  in  one  of  the  New  England  cities  who 
will  not  admit  a  member  to  his  Church  but  under  the  pledge 
that  he  or  she  will  work  for  Christ." 

Happily  the  principle  that  all  should  be  workers  for 
Christ  and  the  Church,  so  far  from  being  new  or  ex- 
traordinary, was  embodied  in  the  General  Rules  of 
the  Methodist  societies  at  their  very  origin.  Among 
other  items  of  equal  significance,  the  following  pledge 
has  been  taken  by  all  who  have  been  admitted  to 
those  societies  since  the  year  1739,  viz.: 

"That  they  should  continue  to  evidence  their  desire  of  salva- 
tion. ...  By  doing  good ;  by  being  in  every  kind  merciful 
after  their  power ;  as  they  have  opportunity,  doing  good  of  every 


392  INDIVIDUAL  ENDEAVORS. 

possible  sort,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  all  men.  To  their  bod- 
ies, of  the  ability  which  God  giveth,  by  giving  food  to  the  hun- 
gry, by  clothing  the  naked,  by  visiting  or  helping  them  that  are 
sick  or  in  prison.  To  their  souls,  by  instructing,  reproving,  or 
exhorting  all  we  have  any  intercourse  with  ;  trampling  under 
foot  that  enthusiastic  doctrine,  that  'we  are  not  to  do  good 
unless  our  heai'ts  be  free  to  it^  " 

The  same  idea  is  reiterated  in  the  following  ques- 
tions and  answers  now  embodied  in  the  form  for 
receiving  members  into  full  connection: 

"  Will  you  clieerfully  be  governed  by  the  rules  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  hold  sacred  the  ordinances  of  God,  and 
endeavor,  as  much  as  in  you  lies,  to  promote  the  welfare  of  your 
brethren  and  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  ? 

**Ans.  I  will. 

"  Will  you  contribute  of  your  earthly  substance,  according  to 
your  ability,  to  the  support  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  various  be- 
nevolent enterprises  of  the  Church  ? 

''A?is.  I  will." 

To  what  extent  pastors  generally  have  compre- 
hended the  full  bearing  of  these  pledges  of  individual 
work  and  co-operation  in  the  Church,  and  their  own 
corresponding  responsibility  to  supply  work  to  all 
their  members  according  to  their  capacity  and  cir- 
cumstances, is  a  matter  deserving  serious  thought. 
But,  whether  or  not  our  work  has  been  fully  done  in 
the  past,  it  is  of  unspeakable  importance  that  here- 
after it  be  made  to  tell  with  all  possible  effect  upon 
the  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom  by  the  full  and  wise 
employment  of  both  individual  and  collective  power. 
Here,  then,  is  a  question  demanding  the  anxious  con- 
sideration of  every  actual  and  intending  pastor :  How 
can  I  best  utilize  individual  effort  for  the  extension 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.'* 


SKILLFUL  EMPLOYMENT.  393 

A  few  suggestions  may  be  given  in  partial  answer 
to  this  question: 

1.  The  pastor  should  not  only  know  his  members 
individually,  but  accustom  himself  to  form  a  judg- 
ment of  each  one's  character  and  adaptation  for  use- 
fulness. 

2.  He  should  personally,  and  by  aid  of  his  leaders, 
make  sure  that  each  one  not  only  has  something  to 
do,  but  does  something  for  the  promotion  of  the  com- 
mon cause. 

At  this  point,  especially  in  the  case  of  young  Chris- 
tians, there  is  a  golden  mean  to  be  sought  between 
attempting  nothing  and  attempting  too  much,  or  what 
is  not  within  the  individual's  line  of  duty.  "  Every 
one  in  his  own  order"  is  the  spirit  of  a  divine  rule. 
Hence,  let  the  child  Christian  have  a  child's  work  to 
do,  and  not  be  urged  to  go  beyond  it.  So  in  the  case 
of  youth  and  adults,  male  and  female,  there  is  a  cer- 
tain fitness  of  religious  occupation  which  may  be  con- 
sidered a  providential  arrangement,  neither  Personal  adap- 
to  be  contravened  nor  neglected.  Individ-  ^^*'°"- 
uals  of  these  several  classes  should  moreover  be  in- 
structed to  study  their  own  adaptations,  and  the  open- 
ings of  Providence  for  their  religious  activities,  whether 
in  their  families  at  home,  or  among  their  associates  at 
school,  or  in  business,  and  thus  to  exemplify  the  old 
Methodistic  motto  in  reference  to  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  "  All  at  it,  and  always  at  it."  Were  there  noth- 
ing else  to  be  done,  the  several  agencies  of  Christian 
efibrt  already  discussed  would  afford  suitable  employ- 
ment for  a  host  in  any  community.  Indeed,  the  ne- 
cessities of  these   several   enterprises  often   suggest 


394        CHRISTIAN  WORK  A  MEANS  OF  GRACE, 

and  enforce  a  degree  of  activity  in  personal  effort 
which,  with  or  without  theory,  goes  far  to  accomplish 
the  grand  design  of  educating  the  Church  for  Chris- 
tian work.  Thus  children  are  encouraged  to  lead 
other  children  to  the  Sunday-school,  to  induce  their 
parents  to  attend  upon  the  means  of  grace,  and  to 
give  of  their  means  for  missions,  church  building,  and 
other  good  objects.  In  like  manner  tracts  are  distrib- 
uted, the  poor  visited,  the  naked  clothed,  the  hungry 
fed,  and  the  sick  cared  for. 

Now,  all  good  pastors  may  be  comforted  in  the 
assurance  that  any  such  act  is  a  means  of  grace  to 
the  Christian  performing  it,  whether  young  or  old. 
Hence,  even  if  it  were  in  his  power  to  monopolize 
these  means  of  usefulness,  it  would  be  unjust  to  others 
that  he  should  curtail  their  privilege  of  doing  good. 
But  in  the  ever-enlarging  sphere  of  duty  that  opens 
before  each  faithful  pastor,  and  the  corresponding 
anxieties  that  burden  his  soul,  how  grateful  is  help — 
help  both  from  man  and  God,  but  especially  help 
from  God  through  his  fellow-men!  Beyond  a  doubt, 
many  pastors  have  failed  to  accomplish  much  that 
they  might  have  done  from  not  knowing  how  to  util- 
ize the  help  God  designed  them  to  employ,  and  which 
the  Christian  people  of  their  Churches  would  have 
delighted  to  render,  had  they  been  suitably  instructed 
and  encouraged.  Let  it,  then,  be  understood,  that  an 
essential  element  of  pastoral  success  is  a  capacity  to 
enlist  workers  for  God,  and  to  employ  wisely  all  the 
strength  and  energy  of  all  persons  that  can  be  enlisted 
in  the  various  forms  of  Christian  duty.  Hence  this 
great  ministerial  gift  can  not  be  too  earnestly  coveted. 


CHURCH  CLASSES.  395 

II.  Pastoral  Aid.  As  already  intimated,  great 
assistance  in  a  pastor  s  work  may  be  expected  from 
faithful  and  competent  class-leaders.  Once  let  the 
idea  become  general  in  the  Church  that  the  highest 
and  purest  enjoyment  of  religion  comes  through  the 
faithful  practice  of  the  duties  it  enjoins,  and  a  great 
step  will  have  been  taken  toward  render-  ^,^^^  ^^^^^^^ 
ing  Christians  of  all  ages  and  conditions 
helpful  workers  in  the  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
If  this  idea  pervades  the  soul  of  a  pastor,  and  by  him 
is  communicated  to  his  leaders,  it  may  soon  be  dif- 
fused through  the  entire  membership.  Of  itself  it 
would  go  far  toward  breaking  up  any  tendency  toward 
monotony  in  experience,  and  also  toward  securing  a 
more  general  attendance  upon  the  class-meeting  and 
other  means  of  grace. 

Thus,  if  the  class-leader,  in  his  sub-pastoral  capac- 
ity, is  not  able  to  visit  all  the  absent  or  sick  members 
of  his  class  with  sufficient  frequency,  let  him  call  to  his 
aid  the  members  who  do  attend.  In  this  way  each 
class  may  become  a  miniature  Church,  and  each  leader 
be  informed,  through  his  members,  of  any  sick,  or 
strangers,  or  poor  that  need  attention.  Practical 
measures  of  this  kind  become  an  excellent  remedy 
for  religious  indifference,  and  if  generally  carried  into 
effect  would  go  far  to  re-invest  class-meetings  with 
their  original  interest  and  power.  An  investigation 
into  their  decline  from  that,  wherever  it  may  have  oc- 
curred, will  show  that  religious  experience  deteriorates 
whenever  it  becomes  in  any  degree  selfish,  seeking 
merely  for  enjoyment  rather  than  for  usefulness. 
Proper  co-operation  with  class-leaders,  as  a  means  of 


396  THEIR  DESIGN. 

enabling  them  to  be  more  efficient  co-workers  in  the 
vineyard  of  the  Lord,  is  a  subject  that  deserves  the 
deepest  concern  of  pastors.  Unhappily,  some  over- 
look, or  greatly  misconceive,  their  proper  duty  in  this 
regard.  Failing  in  the  patience  necessary  to  ascer- 
tain and  carefully  remove  the  causes  which  may  have 
hindered  regular  attendance  at  class-meeting,  they 
have  become  censorious  and  denunciatory,  and  doubt- 
less, contrary  to  their  wishes,  have  actually  created 
prejudices  against  a  cause  they  hoped  to  promote,  at 
the  same  time  disheartening  both  leaders  and  mem- 
bers. A  wise  pastor,  who  may  find  class-meetings 
neglected  in  any  charge  to  whicl^  he  goes,  will  pause 
to  consider,  and  if  possible  combine,  the  elements 
which  are  necessary  to  render  them  in  any  great  de- 
gree an  agency  of  spiritual  good.     For  instance: 

I.  There  should  be  a  general  appreciation,  on  the 
part  of  both  leaders  and  members,  of  the  design  of 
class-meetings  as  a  help  to  self-examination,  a  means  of 
social  worship,  of  religious  advice  and  instruction ;  in 
short,  a  training  school  for  heaven.  At  this  point  an 
important  responsibility  devolves  on  the  pulpit.  If 
ministers  regard  class-leaders  as  helpers  in  their  pas- 
toral work,  they  should  feel  bound  to  create  sentiment 
in  behalf  of  class-meetings,  and  to  impress  upon  mem- 
bers the  importance  of  attendance,  not  only  for  their 
own  sakes,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  Church  and  its 
interests.  Hence  they  should  not  once  only,  but  fre- 
quently, show  the  public  social  and  private  ends  to  be 
accomplished  by  the  regular  and  frequent  meeting 
together  of  those  who  fear  the  Lord.  They  should 
portray  the  historic  interest  of  this  special  means  of 


CLASS-LEADERS,  397 

grace,  and  justly  set  forth  its  moral  and  spiritual  claims 
as  a  means  of  developing  and  confirming  Christian 
character,  and  of  keeping  a  Church  in  order  for  effect- 
ive Christian  work. 

2.  There  should  be,  if  possible,  an  ample  provision 
of  competent  leaders.  This  is  sometimes  difficult 
for  lack  of  the  requisite  talent  including  a  deep  relig- 
ious experience,  and  sometimes  from  a  lack  of  inter- 
est in  the  work  and  of  special  preparation  for  it  on 
the  part  of  those  who  have  sufficient  talent.  In  such 
circumstances  a  pastor  is  called  on  to  exercise  great 
diligence  of  personal  effort  as  well  as  skill  in  discern- 
ing capacity  and  enlisting  talent.  When  new  class- 
leaders  are  appointed,  occasion  should  be  taken  to  ex- 
plain to  them  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the 
office,  while  they  should  also  be  requested  to  read 
carefully  tract  No.  275,  on  "the  duties,  qualifications, 
and  encouragements  of  class-leaders,"  and  tract  No. 
"jZ,  on  the  "  ways  and  means  of  rendering  class-meet- 
ings more  animating  and  instructive,"  together  with 
larger  works  on  class-meetings,  if  practicable.* 

The  Church  has  suffered  great  loss  from  insufficient 
effort  on  the  part  of  pastors  to  develop  the  talent 
existing  in  the  Church  for  this  important  service. 
Leaders,  whose  modes  were  monotonous  and  other- 
wise defective,  have  been  allowed  or  compelled  to 
monopolize  the  office.  The  classes  of  popular  lead- 
ers have  also  been  allowed  to  become  too  large  and 
the   meetings  necessarily   too   long,  while  the  possi- 

*  For  interesting  portraitures  of  good  class-leaders,  see  the  lives  of 
Cravoss(  and  Reeves ;  also,  a  sketch  in  Caughey's  "  Methodism  in 
Earnest,  pp.  174-9.  Has  not  the  American  Church  produced  equally 
instructive  examples.''     Why  are  not  their  memoirs  written? 


398  FEMALE  LEADERS, 

bility  of  weekly  interviews  with  all  the  members 
was  rendered  more  difficult.  Another  evil  has  been 
the  indiscriminate  allotment  of  persons  of  both  sexes 
and  of  all  ages  to  the  same  overcrowded  classes. 
Without  dwelling  upon  the  serious  embarrassments 
that  have  arisen,  especially  from  placing  young  fe- 
males in  classes  where  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
for  them  to  speak  freely,  or  to  receive  the  special  ad- 
vices which  they  need,  it  may  be  confessed  as  a  great 
error  of  American  Methodism,  not  to  have  preserved 
the  original  system  of  Mr.  Wesley  of  appointing  fe- 
male class-leadeirs,  and  of  dividing  the  sexes,  as  far  as 
practicable,  into  separate  classes.  No  word  has  ever 
been  admitted  into  our  Discipline  against  it,  but  yet 
an  opposite  custom  has  become  so  general  that  many 
ministers  seem  never  to  have  considered  either  the 
possibility  or  the  advantages  of  resuming  that  feature 
of  the  class-meeting  system  which  has  always  been 
retained  and  highly  prized  in  England.  This  is  a 
subject,  however,  which  every  pastor  ought  to  con- 
sider calmly  and  practically. 

In  most  Churches,  half  or  more  of  the  members  are 
females,  and  persons  as  intelligent  and  pious  as  tho^^e 
of  the  other  sex  in  similar  circumstances  of  life.  Now 
it  will  be  obvious  that  an  arrangement  to  cultivate 
and  employ  an  equal  proportion  of  female  talent  for 
the  leading  and  instruction  of  religious  classes  would 
at  once  relieve  the  necessity  of  overgrown  classes, 
and  of  appointing  incompetent  or  uninteresting  lead- 
ers of  either  sex. 

Whatever  doubts  may  exist  as  to  other  public  en- 
gagements of  women  vanish   here,  since   the  class- 


PECULIAR  ADAPTATION.  399 

meeting  is  at  most  only  a  social  means  of  grace,  while 
teaching  in  a  religious  class  is  analogous  to  other 
forms  of  teaching,  for  which  the  adaptation  of  women 
has  never  been  questioned.  While  any  improvement 
in  the  system  of  class-meetings  will  be  favorably  felt 
throughout  the  whole  Church,  the  advantages  to  be 
expected  from  the  appointment  of  female  leaders  have 
special  reference  to  their  own  sex.  Some  of  them 
may  be  indicated  as  follows  :  Suppose  an  intelligent, 
experienced,  and  devoted  Christian  woman  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  a  dozen  of  her  younger  sisters  in  Christ, 
as  their  leader,  in  the  first  place  it  is  evident  that 
she  will  perfectly  understand  and  sympathize  with  the 
peculiarities  of  their  character  and  their  trials.  Be- 
sides, she  can  better  visit  the  members  of  her  class 
than  men,  who  are  generally  engaged  in  business,  and 
she  will  have  many  opportunities  of  access  to  them 
which  would  not  be  open  to  the  other  sex.  The  mem- 
bers, too,  will  more  freely  seek  her  counsel  and  assist- 
ance when  doubts  or  embarrassments  cause  them  to 
feel  the  need  of  a  friend  in  whom  they  can  confide. 
She  will  thus  become  more  intimately  acquainted 
with  their  spiritual  wants,  and  will  know  better  how 
to  adapt  instruction  to  their  several  cases.  It  is  also 
evident  that  in  the  class-meetings  her  members, 
even  though  young,  will  not  experience  the  great 
timidity  and  restraint  inseparable  from  opposite  cir- 
cumstances. They  will  be  able  to  speak  freely  of  the 
real  condition  of  their  souls,  their  temptations  and 
difficulties,  their  enjoyments  and  prospects.  In  this 
familiar  circle,  declension  in  spirituality  may  be  de- 
tected, its  causes  ascertained,  and  the  needful  instruc- 


4CXD  EXAMINATION  OF  LEADERS, 

tion  imparted.  Practical  advice  may  also  be  given 
respecting  many  of  the  obligations  of  Christianity, 
which  would  not  be  introduced  into  mixed  classes. 
In  addition  to  exerting  influences  like  these  among 
adult  persons  of  their  own  sex,  female  leaders  qualified 
to  conduct  juvenile  religious  classes  are  more  easy  to 
be  found  than  men  who  can  fully  enter  into  the  sym- 
pathies of  very  young  Christians. 

Now,  while  no  absolute  rule  should  be  given,  it  at 
least  may  be  inculcated  as  the  bounden  duty  of  every 
pastor  to  select  and  enlist  the  very  best  talent  in  his 
Church  for  his  direct  help  in  the  office  of  class-leader, 
also  to  reduce  his  classes  to  proper  numbers,  and  to 
take  great  pains  to  make  a  suitable  distribution  of 
members  in  the  several  classes.  When  all  this  is  done, 
discreet  and  conscientious  attention  should  be  given 
to  that  much-neglected  rule  of  the  Discipline,  *'  to  ex- 
amine each  of  them  (the  leaders)  with  all  possible 
exactness,  at  least  once  a  quarter,  concerning  his 
method  of  meeting  a  class."  The  spirit  of  this  rule 
does  not  limit  the  pastor  to  private  examination,  but 
rather  suggests  a  friendly  conference  with  the  leaders 
as  a  body,  in  which  free  mutual  counsel  may  be  given 
and  taken,  and  the  various  modes  and  their  results 
compared  and  discussed.  Still,  it  may  be  well  occa- 
sionally to  converse  with  the  leaders  separately  in 
compliance  with  that  rule.  What  is  of  equal  impor- 
tance is  to  meet  with  them  in  their  several  classes,  as 
opportunity  may  be  found,  and  thus  not  only  observe 
the  method  of  the  leader  and  the  spirit  of  his  class, 
but  to  gain  and  impart  personal  profit  from  association 
with  both. 


OBJECTS  ATTAINABLE.  40 1 

In  discharging  the  duties  here  referred  to,  pastors 
should  carefully  avoid  a  dictatorial  manner.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  should  be  anxious  to  learn,  as  they 
often  may,  valuable  lessons  from  the  faithful  and  ex- 
perienced leaders  in  their  charges.  Nevertheless,  in 
the  modest  fulfillment  of  the  duties  of  their  office  they 
should  be  fertile  in  suggestions  for  the  promotion  of 
variety,  spirituality,  and  general  interest  of  all  the 
classes.  All  leaders  should  be  advised  to  propose 
occasionally,  at  least,  scriptural  topics  to  their  mem- 
bers for  meditation  during  the  week,  and  review  in  the 
light  of  experience  at  the  following  meeting.  All 
should  be  encouraged  to  acquire  great  familiarity  with 
the  Scriptures,  and  also  with  evangelical  hymns,  as 
sources  of  instruction,  advice,  and  consolation. 

Throughout  a  pastor's  whole  connection  with  this 
division  of  sub-pastoral  work,  he  should  remember 
that  the  mere  ceremony  of  class-meetings  is  of  little 
importance  compared  with  the  possibility  of  making 
them  an  instrumentality  of  spiritual  life  and  power  in 
the  Church.  Every  measure,  therefore,  should  point 
to  the  latter  as  the  grand  and  essential  result.  Other 
instrumentalities  failing  to  secure  a  sufficient  variety 
of  exercises  and  a  solid  religious  interest,  let  the  class- 
meeting  be  made,  temporarily  at  least,  an  occasion 
and  an  agency  of  scriptural  study.  Let  special  topics 
be  appointed,  scriptural  passages  collated  and  exam- 
ined, and  special  prayer  offered  for  the  illuminating 
and  quickening  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  By 
such  means,  with  the  divine  blessing,  it  is  believed 
that  class-meetings  may  not  only  be  restored  to  all 
their  original  interest,  but  rendered  an  increasing 
34 


402  DISCRIMINA  TION  NEEDED. 

power  for  good  in  the  Church,  while  their  leaders, 
whether  male  or  female,  will  be  among  the  most  effi- 
cient coadjutors  of  faithful  pastors. 

In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  inquire  what 
other  agencies  may  be  employed  to  render  effectual  aid 
in  the  work  of  the  Christian  pastorate  ?  Before  an- 
swering, it  may  be  well  to  consider  that  character- 
istic differences  exist  between  country  and  city  life, 
and  also  between  the  condition  of  smaller  and  larger 
cities,  and  particularly  between  the  younger  cities  of 
a  new  country  and  those  established  haunts  of  in- 
famy and  misery  which  so  largely  prevail  in  the  great 
and  long-established  cities  of  the  world.  Desperate 
necessities  sometimes  dictate  desperate  measures,  and 
it  need  not  be  inferred  that  all  measures  which  have 
been  useful  among  the  degraded  population  of  some 
parts  of  London  and  New  York  are  called  for  in 
communities  of  a  different  character.  Yet  human 
nature  is  the  same  in  all  places,  and  its  tendencies 
to  sin  are  generally  so  similar  that  measures  which 
have  anywhere  proved  successful  in  rescuing  souls 
from  vice  and  ruin  are  deserving  of  universal  con- 
sideration. Thus  the  history  of  ragged  schools  in 
Great  Britain  and  midnight  missions  in  some  of 
the  larger  cities  of  England  and  America  are  in- 
structive in  reference  to  the  principles  involved,  the 
self-denial  practiced,  and  the  successes  achieved.  But 
an  attempt  to  create  sjiich  institutions  where  they  are 
not  called  for,  or  are  only  needed  in  a  modified  form, 
would  betray  indiscretion  and  result  badly.  A  just 
discrimination,  therefore,  is  needed  in  the  application 
of  even  correct  principles  and  wise  measures.     The 


CO-  OPERA  TION  DESIRA  BLE.  403 

name  ragged  school,  in  America,  would  be  an  of- 
fense and  a  fatal  stigma,  and  yet,  under  a  well- 
selected  name  the  very  work  of  the  ragged  school 
system  may  be  effectually  done  and  the  necessity  of 
ragged  schools  prevented.  The  work  of  city  missions 
and  mission  Sunday-schools  is  found,  in  Mission 
this  country,  to  combine  nearly  every  thing  ^^°^^^ 
that  is  most  promising  as  means  of  doing  good  within 
regular  Church  operations,  and  the  opinion  is  here 
freely  stated  that  for  Churches  the  fewest  deviations 
from  a  regular  system  of  Church  work  consistent 
with  the  full  discharge  of  their  duty  are  to  be  pre- 
ferred. Hence,  if  industrial  schools,  dispensaries  for 
the  sick,  or  other  agencies  of  a  general  character,  are 
called  for,  they  may  be  best  promoted  by  a  union  of 
efforts  among  Christians  of  various  Churches.  In  a 
country  where  only  the  voluntary  system  is  known, 
whether  in  Church  support  or  in  Christian  duty, 
there  is  no  propriety  in  any  Church  attempting  to 
monopolize  the  means  of  religious  influence,  while 
there  is  great  propriety  in  Christians  of  different 
Churches    cultivating    acquaintance    and 

°  ^  Union  efforts 

mutual  love,  as  well  as  enhancing  mutual 
usefulness,  by  such  forms  of  co-operative  benevolence 
as  are  appropriate  and  feasible. 

But  however  diligent  Christians  may  be  in  duties 
of  a  general  character,  there  is  none  the  less  neces- 
sity of  a  systematic  attention  to  the  obligations  of 
the  Church  which  is  more  particularly  their  home, 
and  it  is  the  home  relation  and  the  co-operation  due 
to  their  own  pastors  that  we  are  now  considering. 
When  this  subject  is  viewed  from  the  position  of  a 


404  A  TTENTION  TO  STRANGERS. 

Church  member,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  on  the 
score  of  friendship  as  well  as  of  allegiance  to  one's 
appointed  spiritual  guide,  it  is  a  duty,  as  it  should 
be  a  pleasure,  to  render  any  co-operation  that  might 
be  promotive  of  the  interests  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
When  viewed  from  the  position  of  a  pastor,  it  is  in- 
expressibly desirable  to  have  the  sympathy  of  loving 
hearts,  the  support  of  active  friends,  the  aid  of  will- 
ing feet  to  run  on  errands  of  mercy,  and  diligent  and 
skillful  hands  to  work  for  God  and  humanity. 

Let  it  now  be  supposed  that  on  the  one  part  there 
Practical  IS  a  ready  mind  and  a  hearty  purpose  of 

measures.  co-opcratiou,   and   on   the  other  a  strong 

desire  to  employ  all  his  own  ability  and  that  of  the 
people  of  his  charge  for  their  religious  improvement 
and  the  salvation  of  others.  What  may  the  pastor 
do  to  develop  the  full  working  power  of  his  Church? 

Answer:  i.  Let  him  see  that  the  regular  and 
tested  system  to  which  he  and  his  people  are  sup- 
posed to  be  accustomed  is  in  a  thorough  and  effi- 
cient state  of  activity. 

2.  As  there  may  be  occasion,  let  him  appoint  com- 
mittees to  do  any  work  of  which  there  is  special 
need.  For  instance,  as  in  most  American  commu- 
nities the  population  changes  frequently  and  new- 
comers are  constantly  arriving,  let  there  be  in  each 
Church  a  strangers'  committee,  or  a  committee  of 
vigilance,  to  ascertain  and  report  the  arrival  of 
strangers,  whether  individuals  or  families.  Mem- 
bers of  this  committee  should  also  be  expected  to 
call  on  new-comers,  to  form  their  acquaintance,  to 
invite  them  to  Church,  and  to  make  them  feel  relig- 


CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIA  TIONS.  405 

iously  at  home  in  the  community,  whatever  Church 
they  may  decide  to  attend.  While  the  visits  of 
such  a  committee  would  not  render  unnecessary 
the  visits  of  a  pastor,  they  would,  in  the  best  man- 
ner, prepare  the  way  for  his  calls,  and  hasten  them 
if  occasion  required.  In  addition  to  calls  on  strangers, 
members  of  this  committee,  and,  indeed,  all  members 
of  the  Church,  should  be  attentive  to  new  attend- 
ants on  public  worship,  forming  their  acquaintance 
as  promptly  as  practicable,  and  welcoming  them  as 
members  of  the  community. 

The  above  is  instanced  as  one  of  several  kinds 
of  committees  which  a  pastor  may,  without  any  for- 
mality, appoint  from  time  to  time,  and  which  would 
be  expected  to  report  directly  to  him. 

3.  In  some  cases  he  may  find  it  well  to  encour- 
age the  organization  of  a  Young  People's  Christian 
Association.  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
in  the  larger  cities  have,  during  some  years  past, 
occupied  a  prominent  position  among  the  various 
agencies  of  usefulness,  having  received  the  general 
support  and  encouragement  of  evangelical  Churches. 
Some  Churches  in  turn  have  profited  by  the  exam- 
ple of  those  associations,  and  have  organized  within 
themselves  more  compact  associations,  embracing 
both  sexes,  and  designed  to  act  within  the  Church 
for  the  promotion  of  its  own  interests  and  objects. 
In  Churches  less  compactly  organized  than  ours, 
such  an  association  can  hardly  fail  to  be  of  great 
utility,  and  there  are  many  cases  among  our 
Churches  in  which  the  more  important  features 
of    such    an    association    may    be    harmonized    with 


406  READING  CIRCLES, 

our  established  system  of  effort  to  great  and  mutual 
advantage. 

4.  Pastors  should  be  on  the  alert  to  suggest  to 
their  people,  especially  the  young  people  of  their 
charges,  appropriate  means  of  rational  entertain- 
ment. This  is  the  most  hopeful  way  of  counter- 
acting the  prevalent  tendency  to  waste  time  and 
deteriorate  character  by  attendance  upon  various 
kinds  of  amusements,  as  it  tends  to  develop  desires  for 
personal  improvement  and  to  create  a  taste  for  no- 
bler things.  With  such  objects  in  view,  some  pastors 
have  found  it  highly  advantageous  to  organize  or 
promote  the  organization  of  a  reading  circle  on  a 
plan  embracing  various  forms  of  literary  exercises  in- 
terspersed with  singing  and  profitable  conversation. 

5.  Private  prayer  unions.  The  great  privilege  of 
united  prayer  is  not  limited  to  personal  presence. 
Union  of  heart  is  as  visible  to  God  as  an  actual  as- 
sembly to  a  mortal  eye.  Besides,  there  is  a  promise 
of  the  Savior  that  seems  specially  adapted  to  promote 
heart  union.  "I  say  unto  you.  That  if  two  of  you 
shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  any  thing  that  they 
shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  Matt,  xviii,  19.  In  this  idea  it 
has  been  more  or  less  customary  for  persons  to  cove- 
nant together  in  reference  to  special  times  and  ob- 
jects of  prayer.  Prudent  suggestions  from  a  pastor 
may  often  be  the  means  of  securing  most  desirable 
results  through  the  instrumentality  of  united  private 
prayer. 

6.  In  many,  perhaps  all  cases  it  may  be  well  to 
organize  a  Ladies  and  Pastors'  Christian  Union,  or  a 


WOMAN'S   WORK  IN  THE  CHURCH.  407 

Ladies'  Pastoral  Aid  Society,  as  a  special  means  of 
developing  the  talent  and  agency  of  Christian  women 
as  workers  for  Christ.  In  villages  and  country  places 
there  may  seem  to  be  less  need  of  systematic  effort 
of  this  kind,  and  yet  how  much  may  anywhere  be 
accomplished  by  it  can  only  be  known  after  thorough 
trial.  The  desideratum  in  every  place  is  to  do  all  that 
can  be  done  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  and.  to  leave  no 
class  or  grade  of  consecrated  talent  unemployed  in  the 
great  work  of  extending  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

The  fact  that  women  can  be  and  ought  to  be  effi- 
cient co-operators  in  nearly  every  form  of  Christian 
duty,  has  never  been  questioned  in  Methodist  Churches 
any  more  than  it  was  in  the  apostolic  Churches. 
Hence,  at  a  period  when  there  seems  to  be  a  gen- 
eral agitation  as  to  the  rights  and  proper  sphere  of 
the  gentler  sex,  it  is  desirable  that  our  Church  should 
equally  vindicate  its  zeal  and  its  prudence  in  a  matter 
of  so  much  importance,  both  to  the  cause  of  Christ 
and  to  women  themselves.  This,  it  is  believed,  may 
be  done,  in  the  most  effectual  manner,  by  giving  them 
encouragement  and  support  in  all  appropriate  duties, 
and  at  the  same  time  guarding  them  against  the  ultra 
measures  and  reckless  schemes  by  which  some  pre- 
tended reformers  would  thrust  them  into  false  posi- 
tions, and  put  in  jeopardy  the  moral  elevation  and  the 
most  sacred  privileges  to  which  Christianity  has  ele- 
vated them.  Whatever  other  questions  may  be  in 
doubt,  we  may  be  confident  that,  as  helpers  to  judi- 
cious pastors  in  the  various  measures  of  true  Chris-- 
tian  benevolence  and  duty,  women  may  at  once 'honor 
themselves  and  bless  humanity.     In  this  sphere,  with- 


408  LAY  PREACHING. 

out  loss  or  risk,   they  may  win  souls  and  secure  a 
crown  of  glory. 

III.  .In  HOME  EVANGELIZATION,  the  third  great 
agency  of  Church  effort,  Methodism  has  been  schooled 
from  its  origin.  Adopting  Wesley's  motto,  "The 
world  is  my  parish,"  and  recognizing  no  limitations 
of  any  kind  that  should  restrain  their  usefulness, 
Methodist  Churches  have  every-where  felt  it  in- 
cumbent on  them  to  stretch  out  their  lines  of  influ- 
ence in  all  possible  directions.  While  the  system  of 
itinerancy  has  developed  an  extraordinary  power  of 
expansion,  reaching  forth  to  destitute  regions,  and 
offering  the  gospel  to  those  who  needed  it,  without 
waiting  for  invitations,  yet  it  could  not  have  accom- 
plished its  full  work  without  the  grand  auxiliary  of 
lay  preaching.  The  providential  manner  in  which 
this  agency  for  the  spread  of  true  religion  was  forced 
upon  the  attention  of  Wesley  is  a  familiar  fact  in  the 
history  of  Methodism  ;*  and  the  faithfulness  with 
which  it  has  been  employed  ever  since  in  no  small 
degree  accounts  for  the  wide  extension  and  the  mul- 
tiplying fruits  of  the  great  revival,  of  which  that  very 
movement  was  one  of  the  first-fruits.  Not  only  was 
lay  preaching  recognized  among  Methodists  as  a  legit- 
imate branch  of  Christian  effort,  but  it  has  been  prac- 
ticed as  an  important  part  of  our  system  of  Church 
operations.  This  has  had  the  double  effect  of  encour- 
aging all,  who  felt  moved  to  call  sinners  to  repent- 
ance, to  act  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church,  and  of 
enabling  the  Church  to  direct  and  utilize  their  efforts. 
In  the  former  aspect  it  has  added  vastly  to  the  variety 

*See  Stevens's  History  of  Methodism,  Vol.  I,  pp.  173,  174. 


DOUBLE   OBJECT.  4O9 

and  aggregate  of  the  talent  that  God  has  been  pleased 
to  employ  for  the  promotion  of  his  own  glory  ;  and,  in 
the  latter,  it  has  not  only  prevented  much  that  would 
have  been  erratic,  if  not  injurious,  but  been  able  to 
make  permanent  many  good  results  that  would  other- 
wise have  been  transient  and  of  little  ultimate  ad- 
vantage to  Christianity.  It  is  deserving  of  further 
remark,  that  the  Methodist  system  of  lay  preaching 
has  a  double  object  with  reference  to  the  preachers 
themselves.  The  first  is  probationary,  designed  to 
test  the  validity  of  an  individual's  impressions  of  duty, 
and  to  enable  the  Church  to  judge  of  his  fitness  for 
the  sacred  office.  In  this  light  it  is  the  only  door  of 
access  to  the  itinerancy  and  the  pastorate.  The  ad- 
vantages of  such  a  beginning  are  not  limited  to  indi- 
vidual discipline  and  development.  The  Church,  by 
the  same  means,  often  secures  its  own  enlargement 
through  years  of  zealous  service,  that  without  such  a 
system  would  be  lost.  But  aside  from  its  probation- 
ary aspect  pointing  toward  the  regular  ministry,  our 
system  of  lay  preaching  employs  many  whose  age  and 
circumstances  require  them  to  be  connected  with  sec- 
ular business,  and  who  can  only  redeem  their  Sab- 
baths and  other  limited  portions  of  time  for  public 
efforts  in  behalf  of  their  fellow-men.  Such  persons 
constitute  the  majority  ^  our  lay  or  local  preachers, 
and  their  number  is  augmented  by  those  ministers 
who,  from  various  causes,  retire  from  the  regular 
work,  and  resume  the  functions  of  occasional  preach- 
ing as  health  and  circumstances  may  admit.  Now, 
while  it  is  by  no  means  conceded  that  Christian  lay- 
men are  not  to  exert  themselves  to  do  good  to  the 

35 


4IO  OPEN-AIR  PREACHING. 

extent  of  their  ability,  whether  formally  licensed  by 
the  Church  or  not,  yet  it  is  claimed  that  where  home 
evangelization  is  a  recognized  object  of  Church  effort, 
it  is  better  that  those  who  engage  actively  in  it  should 
be  officially  responsible  to  the  Church,  and  directly 
associated  with  the  pastorate  as  its  helpers  in  word 
and  doctrine.  So  they  are,  and  for  generations  have 
been,  in  the  economy  of  our  Church.  The  preacher 
in  charge  is  authorized  to  license  "such  persons  as 
he  may  judge  proper  to  officiate  as  exhorters  in  the 
Church,"  according  to  certain  provisions  of  the  Dis- 
cipline. He  is  also  required,  whenever  it  is  practi- 
cable, so  to  "  arrange  the  appointments  as  to  give  the 
local  preachers  regular  and  systematic  employment  on 
the  Sabbath."  A  similar  duty  is  enjoined  on  presid- 
ing elders  in  connection  with  preachers  in  charge. 
Sometimes  this  is  done  by  a  printed  plan  issued  each 
quarter  and  sometimes  less  formally. 

When  pastors  encourage  their  helpers  of  this  class 
to  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  to  urge  the 
Gospel  invitation,  they  should  arrange  to  receive  re- 
ports of  what  they  have  done  and  of  the  encourage- 
ments and  obstacles  with  which  they  have  met.  They 
may  thus  see  occasion  to  strengthen  some  movements 
or  to  modify  others,  and  to  know  when  and  where  their 
own  direct  co-operation  ma^^be  most  important. 

Open-air  preaching  has  been  successfully  practiced 
by  many  lay  preachers,  and  the  recent  revival  of  this 
kind  of  work  for  the  masses  of  great  cities  and  for 
rude  assemblies  on  the  frontier  is  only  a  return  to  a 
favorite  measure  of  early  Methodism,  which,  under 
proper  management,  will  be  generally  useful. 


MEANS   OF  IMPROVEMENT.  4II 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  with  the  great  changes 
that  have  occurred  in  the  circumstances  of  our 
Churches  as  they  have  progressed  from  initial  weak- 
ness to  comparative  and  absolute  strength,  there  has 
been  a  tendency  to  overlook  and  underrate  the  im- 
portance of  our  system  of  lay  preaching,  which  ought 
to  be  checked,  and  which,  it  is  hoped,  may  receive  a 
favorable  counteraction  from  the  general  awakening 
of  other  denominations  to  this  very  class  of  labors. 

Let  it  be  understood,  then,  that  the  pastors  of  the 
Metho'dist  Episcopal  Church  ought  to  take  a  deep 
personal  interest  in  their  exhorters  and  local  preach- 
ers. This  interest  should  be  manifested  by  inquiries 
into  their  religious  experience  and  modes  of  effort,  by 
giving  them  advice  suited  to  their  several  circum- 
stances, and  by  encouraging  them  to  pursue  appro- 
priate courses  of  study  as  regularly  and  thoroughly 
as  possible.  Those  who  have  gifts  promising  useful- 
ness in  the  regular  ministry  should  be  advised  as  to 
the  steps  they  ought  to  take  toward  procuring  a  thor- 
ough education,  while  those  who  are  more  adapted 
to  other  spheres  of  life  should  be  referred  to  proper 
courses  of  reading,  and  aided  in  making  the  best  pos- 
sible improvement  of  their  talents. 

An  encouraging  omen  with  reference  to  the  con- 
tinued and  increasing  usefulness  of  this  class  of  Chris- 
tian laborers  is  found  in  the  recent  conventions  held 
by  local  preachers  for  mutual  conference  and  improve- 
ment. The  discussions  and  resolutions  of  those  bodies 
can  hardly  fail  of  good  results  to  those  who  attend ; 
but  as  that  number  is  very  small  compared  with  the 
many  who  can  not  attend,  it  is  the  more  important 


412  "         THE  TRUE  POLICY. 

that  every  effort  should  be  made  through  pastoral 
agency  to  elevate  the  standard  of  qualification  and  to 
stimulate  a  zealous  and  wholesome  activity  among  all 
who  are  admitted  to  that  important  office.  Much 
discussion  has  taken  place  at  the  recent  Christian 
conventions  respecting  the  subject  of  lay  preaching, 
open-air  preaching,  etc.,  but  it  has  elicited  little  that 
is  new  or  important  to  be  noted  in  this  connection. 

What  WE  need  is  to  keep  up  the  spirit  and  zeal  of 
our  spiritual  forefathers  in  this  department  of  effort, 
accompanied  by  that  measure  of  literary  improvement 
demanded  by  the  present  age.  We  especially  need 
to  maintain  the  idea  that  our  lay  preachers  are  to  be 
hard  and  efficient  workers — not  persons  who  having 
once  deserved  the  office  wish  to  retain  it  as  a  formality, 
and  perhaps  crown  it  with  the  ceremony  of  an  ordina- 
tion, when  their  activity  and  usefulness  are  things  of 
the  past.  We  must  repudiate  the  giving  or  continu- 
ing of  ecclesiastical  offices  as  compliments,  a  course 
which  ought  never  to  be  tolerated  in  Church  proceed- 
ings. Indeed,  any  such  compliment,  which  involves 
the  slightest  prejudice  to  the  interests  of  the  Church, 
becomes  a  positive  dishonor  to  him  that  receives  and  to 
those  that  give  it. 

The  crowning  desideratum  in  this  department  of 
effort  is  faithful  work,  and  a  desire  only  for  the  honor 
that  Cometh  down  from  above.  "  Give  me,"  said 
John  Wesley,  "  one  hundred  preachers  who  fear  noth- 
ing but  sin,  and  desire  nothing  but  God,  and  I  care 
not  a  straw  whether  they  be  clergymen  or  laymen ; 
such  alone  will  shake  the  gates  of  hell,  and  set  up  the 
kingdom  of  heaven   upon  earth."     And   the   Church 


PRAYING  B4NDS.  413 

echoes  the  prayer,  only  pleading  for  thousands  instead 
of  hundreds  of  such  preachers. 

Within  recent  years  there  have  sprung  up  among 
us  some  examples  of  a  special  agency  of  revival  effort 
under  the  title  of  Praying  Bands.  The  idea  of 
these  bands  appears  to  have  been  derived,  in  part  at 
least,  from  Mr.  Wesley's  original  institution  of  Band 
Society,  which  in  American  Methodism  has  been 
allowed  to  lapse  too  much  out  of  view.  But  as  the 
primary  idea  of  the  Wesleyan  Band  Meeting  was  per- 
sonal improvement  and  mutual  help  to  growth  in 
grace,  the  organization  of  the  praying  band  contem- 
plates the  addition  of  active  efforts  for  the  salvation 
of  others.  The  extent  to  which  such  organizations 
may  become  useful  in  the  future  will  depend  upon  the 
special  qualifications,  including  deep  piety  and  great 
discretion,  of  those  who  feel  moved  to  this  form  of 
action  in  behalf  of  Christ's  cause.  Having  in  view 
some  examples  which  have  existed  and  do  now  exist, 
it  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  of  a  more  desirable 
form  of  human  agency  for  pastoral  aid  than  a  com- 
pany of  true  and  experienced  men,  full  of  faith  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  ready  to  serve  as  regular  or 
occasional  helpers  in  the  work  of  bringing  in  sheaves 
to  the  garner  of  our  Lord.  If  the  present  is  not  an 
age  of  superabundant  preaching  it  is  one  in  which 
there  is  no  lack  of  that  means  of  grace.  There  is 
at  least  a  greater  lack  of  fervent,  believing  prayer,  of 
spiritual  singing,  and  of  skillful  conversation  with  the 
awakened  and  unawakened  on  the  subject  involved  in 
the  immediate  and  full  salvation  of  the  soul.  Besides, 
a  pastor  often  feels  the  need  of  variety  in  the  form  of 


414  ^    MIND    TO    WORK  NEEDED, 

services  and  in  the  agencies  employed  in  his  Church 
and  community.  This  is  sometimes  secured  by  min- 
isterial help  and  sometimes  quite  as  appropriately  by  a 
visit  more  or  less  prolonged  of  a  praying  band,  which 
is  usually,  although  an  organization  of  laymen,  de- 
signed for  itinerant  work,  and  ready  to  go  wherever 
its  labors  are  wanted  most.  This  form  ot  combined 
effort  is  especially  adapted  to  missionary  work  in 
places  of  difficulty  and  moral  destitution.  When 
needed  in  an  organized  Church  it  should  come  on 
the  joint  request  of  the  pastor  and  his  leading  mem- 
bers with  the  purpose  of  aiding  both,  but  aiming  es- 
pecially to  encourage  by  example  and  precept  the  in- 
creased activity  and  faith  of  the  latter. 

Nothing  that  has  been  suggested  with  reference  to 
special  plans  or  organizations  for  Church  work  should 
Every  one's  ^^  coustrucd  as  dcsigucd  to  cxcusc  any 
work.  pastor  from  endeavoring  to  infuse  into  his 

Church  as  a  whole  and  into  each  member  as  an  in- 
dividual the  spirit  of  work  for  the  cause  of  Christ. 
When  special  committees  are  appointed  or  organiza- 
tions formed,  great  care  should  be  taken  to  remove 
any  impression  or  conjecture  that  no  Church  mem- 
ber is  expected  to  work  without  special  nomination  or 
formal  appointment.  On  the  contrary,  the  mind  to 
work*  should  be  commended  in  all,  and  all  should  be 
appealed  to,  to  devise  plans  of  usefulness  and  to  put 
forth  efforts  to  do  good  in  their  several  spheres.  Es- 
pecially should  all  be  exhorted  to  visit  their  neigh- 
bors and  invite  them  to  attend  Church,  to  welcome 
strangers  to  the  house  of  God  and  introduce  them  to 

*  See  Nehemiah  iv,  6. 


ALL  HAVE  DUTLES.  415 

the  pastor,  to  distribute  tracts  and  converse  relig- 
iously with  all  to  whom  they  can  have  access.  Chris- 
tian cordiality  of  manner  is  in  itself  a  powerful  attrac- 
tion, which  often  expresses  as  significantly  as  words 
the  invitation,  "  Come  with  us,  and  we  will  do  you 
good."  Christian  letter-writing,  as  well  as  conversa- 
tion, may  often  be  very  useful  in  arresting  attention 
and  committing  persons  to  acts  of  decision  in  behalf 
of  their  souls.  Visits  of  sympathy  and  Christian  kind- 
ness to  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  afflicted  seldom  fail 
to  open  the  way  of  access  to  their  hearts.*  Both  at 
home  and  abroad  the  humblest  Christians  can  find 
work  to  do  for  the  Divine  Master,  and  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  foretell  to  what  an  extent  of  usefulness  a  man 
or  a  woman  may  arrive  who  from  early  life  is  con- 
trolled by  the  supreme  purpose  of  doing  good  unto 
all  men. 

A  review  of  the  topics  treated  in  this  chapter  will 
convince  any  one  that  pastors  of  the  present  day  are 
neither  called  upon  to  go  "a  warfare  at  their  own 
charges,"  nor  to  fight  or  work  single-handed.  On  the 
contrary,  great  helps  are  available  to  them  through 
the  properly  wielded  co-operation  of  others.  Some 
readers  may  be  disposed  to  cavil  at  the  idea  of  in- 
creased "machinery"  and  novel  instrumentalities  in 
Church  work.  Probably  the  same  persons  feel  no 
alarm  at  the  employment  of  machinery  to  transmit 
the  telegrams  or  print  the  newspapers  and  books 
th^y  read.  In  all  probability  they  glory  in  the  speed 
of  the  locomotive,  and  are  on  the  alert  to  profit  by 
all  the  material  inventions  and  progress  of  the  age. 

*  See  Matthew  xxv,  36. 


41 6  MORAL  MACHINERY. 

Let  them,  then,  consider  whether  it  is  not  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  the  genius  of  that  Christianity  to 
which  the  age  owes  all  its  valuable  inventions  and 
real  progress  to  employ  such  variations  in  the  modes 
of  presenting  truth  and  applying  influence  as  may  be 
adapted  to  the  promotion  of  its  grand  designs  in  the 
changed  and  ever-changing  circumstances  of  society. 
In  other  words,  let  such  persons  explain  why  moral 
machinery  is  not  as  valuable  in  its  place  as  physical. 
Nevertheless,  the  writer  would  enter  an  uncompro- 
mising caveat  against  any  undue  reliance  on  instru- 
mentalities of  any  kind  apart  from  the  influence  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  "Things  new  and  old"  are  the 
prescription  of  the  Master.  Yet  all  things  are  to 
be  in  subordination  to  the  Spirit  of  truth,  which  is 
Christ's  promised  gift,  designed  to  abide  with  the 
Church  forever.*  While  without  Christ  we  can  do 
nothing,  and  while  with  his  Spirit  strengthening  us 
we  can  do  all  things,  we  should  consider  it  as  much 
our  duty  to  try  new  measures  that  give  reasonable 
promise  of  usefulness  as  to  profit  by  the  results  of 
past  experience  and  by  a  steadfast  adherence  to  the 
unchanging  truth  of  God.  Nothing  is  more  certain 
than  that  to  spiritual  Christianity  belongs  the  right, 
and  if  the  right,  then  the  duty,  of  employing  the 
facilities  and  agencies  of  modern  civilization  as  means 
of  advancing  its  conquests  over  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Who  complains  that  missionaries  now  go  by 
railroad  and  steam-ship  to  China,  instead  of  making 
the  long  voyage  by  wind  and  sail  around  the  Cape  of 
Gocd    Hope.^     And  who  that   reflects  that  but  for 

*See  John  xiv,  i6,  17. 


CHRISTIANITY  THE  SOURCE   OF  PROGRESS.    417 

ocean-going  ships  of  one  kind  or  the  other  the  mis- 
sionaries could  not  reach  China  at  all?  The  same 
principle  is  also  involved  in  home  operations  of  every 
kind.  "  The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fullness 
thereof;"  and  whatever  in  the  progress  of  the  world's 
development  may  be  employed  for  the  glory  of  God 
or  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  should  be  freely  and  diligently  used  by 
Christians  as  their  lawful  heritage.  "All  things  are 
yours ;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the 
world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things 
to  come ;  all  are  yours ;  and  ye  are  Christ's ;  and 
Christ  is  God's."  i  Cor.  iii,  21-23.  Surely  modern 
progress  has  not  yet  outstripped  the  far-reaching  con- 
ception of  the  apostle  in  this  declaration.  In  the 
light  of  the  text  quoted,  he  who  would  confine  the 
Church  to  fixed  and  unvarying  modes  of  action  is  as 
clearly  wrong  as  he  who,  lest  he  should  interfere  with 
the  Spirit  of  God,  would  reject  human  instrumental- 
ity altogether.  Let  it  then  be  hoped  that  modern 
pastors,  while  faithful  to  guard  the  old  landmarks  of 
revealed  truth  and  thorough  scriptural  experience,  will 
use  their  Christian  liberty  in  employing  and  devising 
the  best  auxiliary  means  of  extending  the  knowledge 
of  both  wherever  humanity  is  perishing  for  lack  of 
the  great  salvation. 

There  is  a  happy  art  of  doing  and  yet  not  seem- 
ing to  do.  Some  men  are  so  anxious  to  have  the 
credit  of  all  the  good  that  is  done  in  a  Church 
that  they  practically  reject  co-operation,  and  curtail 
their  usefulness  to  the  limits  of  their  personal  agency. 
Even  that  agency  is  impaired  and   prejudiced  by  a 


41 8  MAGNANIMITY  DEMANDED. 

course  so  unworthy  of  ministers  of  the  gospel.  The 
true  Christian  pastor,  however,  is  at  once  magnani- 
mous and  self-forgetful,  anxious  to  give  others  all 
credit  due,  and  willing  to  merge  himself  and  his  own 
efforts  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  Master's  will 
and  the  promotion  of  the  divine  glory,  whoever  may 
be  the  agent.  With  this  spirit,  as  illustrated  by  cor- 
responding exertions  and  diligence,  he  may  not  only 
hope  to  be  useful  in  the  best  of  all  causes,  but  also 
to  be  an  organizer  of  usefulness  to  which  neither  time 
nor  space  can  set  limits. 


THE  NECESSITY  OF  REVIVALS.  419 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   PASTOR   IN    HIS    RELATION    TO    REVIVALS    AND 
REVIVAL  AGENCIES. 

TRUE  religion  consists  in  perfect  union  between 
God  and  man.  It  implies  the  full  discharge  of 
human  duty  and  the  free  bestowment  on  man  of  the 
divine  blessings.  Whatever  lessens  the  intimacy  of 
that  union,  or  interrupts  the  bestowment  or  acceptance 
of  those  blessings,  makes  a  revival  of  true  spiritual 
life  necessary  in  the  soul  of  man.  The  necessity  of 
revivals  comes  not  from  any  arbitrariness  in  our 
Heavenly  Father  as  to  giving  or  withholding  his 
spiritual  favor,  but  rather  from  the  proneness  of 
men,  however  exalted  in  the  divine  favor,  to  relapse 
into  coldness,  formality,  indifference,  and  unbelief. 

When  we  consider  the  enduring  mercy  of  God  and 
the  travail  of  the  Redeemer's  soul  in  behalf  o^"  lost 
men,  we  can  see  no  reason  why  the  light  of  life  should 
not  be  continually  spreading  without  ever  receding, 
or  why  the  spiritual  power  of  the  Church  should  not 
be  continually  augmenting  without  ever  declining. 
But  when  we  consider  the  unfaithfulness  of  men,  the 
oppositions  and  allurements  of  the  world,  and  the 
temptations  of  the  devil,  we  see  the  explanation  but 
no  justification  of  the  fact  that  the  light  of  even  true 


420  CHRISTIANITY  A   REVIVAL. 

religion  has  often  been  dimmed  and  intermittent,  and 
has  as  often  needed  rekindling  by  revival   influence. 

The  Old  Testament  Scriptures  record  numerous 
facts  which  illustrate  these  principles,  extending  from 
patriarchal  times  down  through  Jewish  history  to  the 
days  of  Malachi.  Many  of  the  prophecies  abound  in 
revival  phraseology  and  in  glorious  promises  which 
were  to  be  fulfilled  under  the  Christian  dispensation. 
In  fact,  Christianity  itself  may  be  considered  a  revival 
and  enlargement  of  whatever  essential  features  of  re- 
ligion were  embodied  in  Judaism. 

The  entire  ministry  of  Christ  was  of  the  revival 
type.  He  preached  repentance  and  promised  the  for- 
giveness of  sins.  He  required  those  who  would  be 
his  disciples  to  come  out  from  the  world,  to  deny 
themselves,  and  to  take  up  their  cross  and  follow  him. 
He  enjoined  upon  his  followers  the  world-wide  exten- 
sion of  his  truth,  requiring  them  to  be  the  "  light  of  the 
world,"  and  to  "let  their  light  so  shine  that  men  may 
see  their  good  works  and  glorify  their  Father  which 
is  in  heaven."  As  "  children  of  the  light,"  they  were 
like  the  wise  virgins  to  keep  their  lamps  trimmed  and 
burning,  and  to  seek  to  "  turn  men  from  darkness  to 
light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God."  The 
promise  of  "  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost," 
was  also  associated  with  this  duty.  "  If  I  depart  I 
will  send  him  unto  you,  and  when  he  is  come  he  will 
reprove  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment." John  xvi,  8.  Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the 
The  divine  diviue  plan  for  the  extension  of  true  religion 
p^^"-  contemplated  an  increase  of  efficiency  in 

the  successive  dispensations,  until  Christianity  should 


THE  DIVINE  PLAN,  42 1 

be  thoroughly  furnished  with  spiritual  agencies  ade- 
quate to  the  conversion  of  the  world.  It  was  no  part 
of  that  plan  that  Christians  should  alternate  between 
action  and  inaction,  languishing  from  time  to  time  in 
order  to  be  revived  again.  On  the  contrary,  it  was 
made  at  once  their  duty  and  their  privilege  to  be  "al- 
ways abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord."  The  New 
Testament  Church,  as  a  whole  and  in  its  various 
branches,  was  organized  for  this  specific  work,  and 
while  faithful  to  its  design  it  prospered  and  prevailed 
over  the  most  formidable  oppositions,  and  rapidly  ex- 
tended its  influence  to  the  chief  nations  of  its  period. 
Had  the  scriptural  theory  and  practice  of  missionary 
and  revival  effort  continued  to  be  exemplified,  who  can 
tell  how  soon  a  pure  Christianity  might  have  been 
established  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth  ! 

But,  alas !  the  Church  in  its  next  historical  phase 
became  corrupted  in  this  very  respect,  and  commenced 
seeking  to  extend  itself  by  political  rather  than  spirit- 
ual agencies,  by  alliances  with  the  State  rather  than  by 
humble  dependence  on  God  and  truth.  Consequently, 
like  the  backslider  in  heart,  the  ancient  Church  was 
"  filled  with  its  own  ways."  Spiritual  declension  fol- 
lowed external  expansion,  and  for  long  and  dreary 
centuries,  the  moral  power  and  spiritual  life  of  the 
Church  remained  nearly  extinct  amid  prevailing  errors 
and  corruptions.  But  still  a  light  glimmered  in  the 
darkness,  an  incorruptible  seed  was  left,  and  after 
many  unsuccessful  attempts  to  secure  reform  within 
the  Church,  a  Reformation  was  effected  by  coming  out 
from  that  spiritual  Babylon  which  the  Roman  Church 
had  become,  and  re-organizing  Churches  on  a  script- 


422  THE  REFORMATION  A   REVIVAL, 

ural  basis.  Thus  the  Reformation  was  a  revival,  and 
so  long  as  the  scriptural  principles  which  governed 
its  origin  prevailed,  its  progress  was  rapid  and  its 
effects  were  glorious.  When  subsequently  the  Re- 
formed Churches,  and  particularly  the  Church  of  En- 
gland, lapsed  into  spiritual  deadness  through  moral 
inactivity  and  the  neglect  of  the  truth,  another  revival 
arose  which,  first  as  a  term  of  reproach,  and  subse- 
quently as  an  accepted  distinction,  received  the  name 
Methodism  a  of  Mcthodism.  Thus,  the  historical  idea 
revival.  q£  Mcthodism  is  that  of  a  revival  of  pure 

and  undefiled  religion.  Stevens  justly  characterizes  it 
as  a  "  great  religious  movement."  Speaking  of  Meth- 
odism generally,  he  says,  "  It  was  a  system  of  vital  doc- 
trines and  practical  expedients — a  breaking  away  of  all 
the  old  dead  weights  which  had  incumbered  the  march 
of  the  Reformation — a  revival  Church  in  its  spirit,  a 
missionary  Church  in  its  organization."  Its  original  de- 
sign, so  far  as  comprehended  by  Wesley  and  his  coad- 
jutors, was  wholly  missionary  and  revivalistic,  but  it 
was  soon  found  that  successful  results  of  this  character 
could  not  be  made  permanent  without  pastoral  super- 
vision ;  hence  the  formation  of  societies,  and  in  due 
time,  of  Churches.  But  these  societies  and  Churches 
were  also  designed  to  be  missionary  in  their  influence, 
and  to  embody  revival  agencies  in  their  mode  of  exist- 
ence and  forms  of  action.  In  this  they  sought  to  fol- 
low the  example  of  the  Pentecostal  Church,  and  of  the 
other  Churches  founded  by  the  apostles. 

Other  revivals  of  religion  not  less  clearly  marked  in 
character,  though  perhaps  of  less  obvious  extent  and 
influence,  have  occurred  all  along  the  history  of  the 


A  REVIVAL  AGE.  423 

Church  in  different  countries,  but  more  especially 
where  the  pure  Word  of  God  has  been  read  and 
preached.  Hence,  it  may  be  affirmed  that  God  has 
ever  been  true  to  his  promises,  so  that  whenever  even 
a  faithful  few  have  sought  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
according  to  the  teaching  of  the  divine  word,  they 
have  not  sought  in  vain.  Yet,  through  the  with- 
holding of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  false  teachings  with 
reference  to  the  nature  and  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  other  similar  causes,  what  dismal  periods  of  de- 
clension and  barrenness,  what  multipled  years  of 
darkness  and  moral  death  have  been  the  heritage  of 
the  Church !  Hence,  too,  what  slow  and  doubtful 
progress  has  been  made  by  Christianity  during  centu- 
ries when  it  ought  to  have  been  filling  the  earth  with 
light  and  knowledge !  But  we  now  have  cause  for 
devout  thankfulness  that  God  in  answer  to  more 
general  and  united  prayer,  and  in  sanction  of  more 
earnest  and  persevering  effort,  has  at  length  more 
generally  revived  his  work.  Thus  it  has  come  to 
pass  that  within  recent  periods,  Pentecostal  scenes 
have  become  frequent,  Churches  have  been  revived 
and  multiplied.  Christians  in  vast  numbers  have  been 
quickened  to  a  higher  life,  the  borders  of  Zion  have 
been  enlarged,  and  hopes  have  been  awakened  for  the 
speedy  conversion  of  the  world.  Happy  are  those 
ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  who  enter  upon  their 
work  under  such  influences,  and  who  consecrate  their 
lives  to  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  by  the  use  of 
all  the  varied  and  multiplying  agencies  which  God  has 
appointed  and  blessed  for  that  purpose. 

It  is  from  this  point  of  view  that  ministerial  duty 


424  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  SUBJECT, 

is  now  to  be  studied ;    hence,  the  relevancy  and  im- 
portance of  the  following  questions : 

1.  Why  should  pastors  seek  to  promote  revivals  of 
religion  ? 

2.  What  are  the  best  methods  for  promoting  re- 
vival g  ? 

3.  In  what  ways  can  the  fruit  of  revivals  be  best 
secured   and   made  most  permanent  in  the  Church  ? 

In  proceeding  to  consider  these  questions,  it  may 
be  remarked,  that,  although  the  missionary  and  pas- 
toral phases  of  Christian  effort  are  so  different  in 
some  respects  as  to  deserve  distinct  recognition,  yet 
they  are  so  essentially  one  in  object  that  they  blend 
together  advantageously,  and,  in  fact,  ought  never 
to  be  wholly  separated  from  each  other.  Missionary 
success,  whether  in  Christian  or  pagan  lands,  needs 
always  to  be  followed  by  faithful  pastoral  labor,  and 
the  highest  success  in  the  pastorate  can  never  be 
attained  without  the  employment  of  missionary  agen- 
cies and  the  practical  development  of  a  missionary 
spirit.  The  oppositions  of  the  human  heart  are  es- 
sentially the  same  in  all  ages,  countries,  and  circum- 
stances. They  may,  indeed,  be  increased  by  heathen 
superstitions  and  the  practice  of  idolatry.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  influences  of  a  nominal  Christianity 
may,  by  degrees,  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord,  yet 
in  both  conditions  the  influences  of  the  Holy 'Spirit 
are  essential  to  the  conversion  and  ultimate  salvation 
of  man. 

I.  Some  of  the  essential  points  involved  in  the 
first  of  the  above  questions  have  already  been  indi- 
cated.    Nevertheless,  it  may  now  be  summarily  an- 


REVIVAL  MOTIVES.  425 

swered  that  Christian  pastors  should  seek  to  promote 
revivals  of  religion  for  the  following  and  other  kin- 
dred reasons: 

1.  In  order  to  the  effective  accomplishment  of 
the  highest  objects  of  their  life — the  salvation  of 
souls. 

2.  In  order  to  the  accomplishment  of  that  work 
on  a  broader  scale,  and  to  a  wider  extent  than  would 
be  possible  without  the  influences  of  general  and 
powerful  awakenings  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  What 
faithful  pastor  has  not  had  occasion  to  mourn  over 
the  powerlessness  of  even  the  most  appropriate  forms 
of  religion.?  -Who  that  comprehends  the  difference 
between  spiritual  life  and  death  has  failed  to  per- 
ceive the  deep  significance  of  Ezekiel's  vision  of 
the  valley  of  dry  bones,  as  representing  the  condi- 
tion of  an  inanimate  Church,  in  which  the  bones, 
though  many,  are  "very  dry."  And  who  that  has 
witnessed  the  blessed  influences  of  a  revival  in 
clothing  dry  bones  with  flesh  and  filling  them  with 
breath  and  life,  has  failed  better  to  understand  the 
reviving  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  and  the  glori- 
ous significance  of  the  revival  promises }  (See  Ezekiel 
xxxvi,  25-27;  xxxvii,  14.)  Such  words  indicate  pre- 
cisely what  is  accomplished  by  a  genuine  revival  of 
religion,  and  what  any  pastor  may  hope  to  see  real- 
ized as  a  result  of  uniting  his  efforts  with  the  saving 
grace  and  sovereign  power  of  God.  In  a  true  revi- 
val of  religion  God  "  makes  bare  his  arm  "  in  behalf 
of  the  cause  to  which  the  pastor's  life  is  devoted. 
Christian  sympathy  and  activity  are  also  brought  to 
his  aid   in  more  powerful  degrees   than    usual;   and 

36 


426  ■  DIVINE  PROMISES. 

hence,  although  humbled  with  a  sense  of  his  own 
insufficiency,  he  is  often  permitted  to  witness  in 
weeks  greater  results  than  in  years  of  routine  and 
ordinary  labor. 

3.  Revivals  of  rehgion  are  equally  in  harmony 
with  the  moral  wants  of  men  and  the  divine  econ- 
omy of  means  for  their  rescue  from  sin  and  moral 
death.  Human  life  is  filled  with  alternations,  as 
between  waking  and  sleeping,  labor  and  rest,  storm 
and  calm,  excitement  and  repose.  If,  in  physical 
life,  the  prevailing  tendency  is  to  inertia,  it  is  even 
more  so  in  our  moral  and  spiritual  relations.  Phys- 
ical iner.tia  is,  in  some  degree,  counteracted  by  the 
stern  necessities  of  life.  In  like  manner  God  has 
appointed  agencies  to  counteract  moral  indifference 
and  spiritual  torpor.  Hence,  however  men  may  en- 
deavor to  quiet  consciences  burdened  with  guilt,  or 
to  lull  themselves  with  thoughts  of  "peace,  peace, 
when  there  is  no  peace,"  God's  plan  is  to  arouse 
them  more  or  less  frequently,  either  by  startling 
providences,  herald-like  proclamations  of  the  gospel, 
the  admonitions  of  Christian  friendship,  the  striv- 
ings of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  by  all  these  causes  com- 
bined. It  is,  consequently,  the  duty  of  the  Church 
to  promote  and  apply  the  various  moral  and  spiritual 
agencies  by  which  men  are  rescued  from  sin  and 
trained  for  heaven.  In  so  doing,  blessed  revivals  of 
religion  are  secured  with  the  happiest  results.. 

4.  Genuine  revivals  of  religion  are  of  unspeakable 
advantage  to  the  Church.  They  arouse  its  activities, 
they  quicken  its  sympathies,  and  increase  its  moral 
power    by   shaking  off   its   dead  weights  and   giving 


SPIRITUAL  EFFECTS.  427 

it  the  animation  and  hopefulness  of  conscious  suc- 
cess. The  effect  of  the  revival  in  New  England,  in 
1735,  observed  by  Jonathan  Edwards,  was,  by  him, 
stated  in  the  following  terms: 

Persons  "  that  before  this  wonderful  time  had  been  some- 
thing religious  and  concerned  for  their  salvation,  have  been 
awakened  in  a  new  manner,  and  made  sensible  that  their  slack 
and  dull  way  of  seeking  was  never  like  to  attain  their  purpose, 
and  so  have  been  roused  up  to  a  greater  violence  for  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  These  awakenings,  when  ihey  have  first  seized 
on  persons,  have  had  two  effects  :  One  was  that  they  have 
brought  them  immediately  to  quit  their  sinful  practices,  and  the 
looser  sort  have  been  brought  to  forsake  their  former  vices  and 
extravagances.  When  once  the  Spirit  of  God  began  to  be  so 
wonderfully  poured  out  in  a  general  way  through  the  town, 
people  had  soon  done  with  their  quarrels,  backbi tings,  and  in- 
termeddling with  other  men's  matters  ;  the  tavern  was  soon  left 
empty,  and  persons  kept  very  much  at  home ;  none  went 
abroad  unless  on  necessary  business  or  on  some  religious  ac- 
count, and  every  day  seemed,  in  many  respects,  like  a  Sabbath 
day.  The  other  effect  was,  that  it  put  them  on  earnest  applica- 
tion to  the  means  of  salvation — reading,  prayer,  meditation,  the 
ordinances  of  God's  house,  and  private  conferences.  Their  cry 
was,  '  Wliat  shall  we  do  to  be  saved.'" 

"These  things  have  been  accompanied  with  an  exceeding 
concern  and  zeal  for  moral  duties,  and  that  all  professors  may 
with  them  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  their  Savior,  and  an  un- 
common care  to  perform  relative  and  social  duties,  and  a  noted 
eminence  in  them  ;  a  great  inoffensiveness  of  life  and  conver- 
sation in  the  sight  of  others  ;  a  great  meekness,  gentleness,  and 
benevolence  of  spirit  and  behavior,  and  a  great  alteration  in 
those  things  that  formerly  used  to  be  the  person's  failings." 

Well  might  the  great  metaphysician  affirm  such 
a  work  not  only  to  be  genuine,  but  glorious,  and  in 
answer  to  familiar  objections  exclaim  : 

"  Now  if  such  things  are  enthusiasm,  and  the  fruits  of  a  dis- 
tempered brain,  let  my  brain  be  evermore  possessed   of  that 


428  CONCURRENT  TESTIMONY. 

happy  distemper !  If  this  be  distraction,  I  pray  God  that  the 
world  of  mankind  may  be  all  seized  with  this  benign,  meek, 
beneficent,  beatifical,  glorious  distraction  !" 

The  rapid  growth  and  the  higher  prosperity  of 
Christian  Churches  in  modern  times  is  greatly 
owing  to  revivals  of  religion.  This  has  not  only 
been  emphatically  true  throughout  the  whole  his- 
tory of  Methodism,  but  also  in  other  Churches. 
Dr.  Sprague,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  writing 
one  hundred  years  later  than  Edwards  (1832),  said 
in  terms  which  have  been  appropriate  ever  since: 

"  It  has  come  to  pass  in  these  days  in  which  we  live,  that 
far  the  greater  number  of  those  who  are  turned  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  experience  the  change 
during  revivals  of  religion.  It  is  for  revivals  that  the  Church 
is  continually  praying,  and  to  them  that  she  is  looking  for  ac- 
cessions, both  to  her  numbers  and  her  strength.  The  praise 
of  revivals  is  upon  her  lips  and  upon  the  lips  of  her  sons  and 
daughters  who  come  crowding  to  her  solemn  feasts." 

Bishop  MTlvaine,  writing  at  the  last-mentioned 
date,  also  said : 

"  Whatever  I  possess  of  religion  began  in  a  revival.  The 
most  precious,  steadfast,  and  vigorous  fruits  of  my  ministry 
have  been  the  fruits  of  revivals.  I  believe  that  the  spirit  of 
revivals,  in  the  true  sense,  was  the  simple  spirit  of  the  religion 
of  apostolic  times,  and  will  be,  more  and  more,  the  character- 
istic of  these  times  as  the  day  of  the  Lord  draws  near." 

Moreover,  contrary  to  the  impressions  of  many, 
it  may  be  affirmed  that  revivals  tend  to  develop 
important  phases  of  Christian  character  in  those 
who  are  converted  in  connection  with  them.  "  I 
have  observed,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  that  few  who 
set  out  in  good  earnest  go  back;  but  of  those 
who  set  out  coldly,  one  out  of  five  generally  does." 


INCREASE  OF  MINISTERIAL  POWER.  429 

Other  competent  witnesses  down  to  the  present  day 
affirm  that  larger  proportions  of  persons  converted 
under  revival  influences  hold  on  their  religious  course 
firmly,  than  of  those  professing  religion  apart  from 
special  eiforts  and  means  of  grace.  The  reason  may 
be  that  they  set  out  with  greater  earnestness,  and 
become  accustomed  from  the  first  to  greater  activity 
and  more  whole-hearted  consecration  to  the  divine 
service.  In  this  view,  the  general  Christian  activity 
of  the  present  day  may  be  attributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  same  cause. 

5.  Revivals  are  invaluable  as  means  of  increasing 
ministerial  power.  On  this  point  Dr.  Sprague  has 
well  said: 

"Revivals  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  Christian  ministry, 
both  by  increasing  the  qualifications  of  those  who  are  engaged 
in  it  and  by  bringing  others  to  give  themselves  to  the  work. 
They  serve  to  raise  the  tone  of  ministerial  qualification.  A 
minister  can  learn  that  in  a  revival  which  he  can  scarcely  learn 
in  any  other  circumstances.  There  he  enjoys  advantages  which 
he  can  have,  nowhere  else  for  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
windings  of  the  human  heart,  for  ascertaining  the  influence  of 
different  truths  upon  different  states  of  feeling,  for  learning  how 
to  detect  false  hopes  and  to  ascertain  and  confirm  good  hopes, 
and,  I  may  add,  for  getting  his  soul  deeply  imbued  with  the  true 
spirit  of  his  work.  Accordingly  it  has  often  been  remarked  that 
ministers,  after  having  passed  through  a  revival,  have  preached, 
and  prayed,  and  done  their  whole  work  with  far  more  earnest- 
ness and  effect  than  before,  and  they  themselves  have  not  unfre- 
quently  acknowledged  that  what  they  had  gained  during  such  a 
season  has  been  worth  more  to  them  than  the  study  of  years." 

James  Caughey  uses  similar  and  even  more  forcible 
language  on  this  important  subject : 

"  Engaging  in  a  revival  has  a  remarkable  tendency  to  invig- 
orate the  soul  of  a  preacher,  and  to  impart  a  keenness  of  edge 


430  HARVEST  SEASONS. 

and  a  piercing  point  to  his  preaching.  Lessons  upon  the  true 
method  of  preaching  to  sinners  are  learned  during  a  revival 
which  are  seldom  or  never  to  be  obtained  in  the  retirement  of 
the  study.  In  one  revival  of  religion  a  man  will  learn  better 
how  to  preach  the  truths  of  Christianity  in  such  a  manner  as 
will  awaken  and  convert  men  than  he  could  in  many  years'  close 
study  in  connection  with  his  ordinary  ministry."  * 

The  language  of  William  Arthur  bearing  upon  this 
subject  is  of  similar  tenor: 

"It  is  wonderful  how  much  the  occurrence  of  conversions 
heightens  the  efficiency  of  men  already  employed  in  the  minis- 
try or  in  other  departments  of  the  work  of  God.  The  preacher 
preaches  with  new  heart,  the  exhorter  exhorts  with  revived  feel- 
ing, he  that  prays  has  double  faith  and  fervor,  and  the  joy  of 
conquest  breathes  new  vigor  into  all  the  Lord's  host." 

6.  Revivals  are  necessary  as  harvest  seasons  to 
gather  in  the  fruits  of  pastoral  seed-sowing.  Noth- 
ing should  ever  be  said  to  decrease  efforts  or  expecta- 
tions for  immediate  and  constant  fruits  from  religious 
faithfulness  both  in  the  pulpit  and  pastoral  work.  In 
God's  husbandry  the  seeds  of  truth  sometimes  mature 
quickly,  and  faithful  labor  is  followed  by  speedy  and 
bountiful  returns.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  always  so, 
but  for  lack  of  the  "rain  of  righteousness"  seed  lies 
buried  long  without  germinating.  Indeed,  without 
that  rain  and  other  genial  influences  from  above  it 
may  never  germinate  or  mature.  Hence  the  neces- 
sity of  revivals,  in  which  God's  Spirit  is  poured  out 
both  to  soften  the  hearts  of  men  and  to  quicken  the 
germs  of  truth.  However  we  may  theorize  on  the 
possibility  and  desirability  of  continuous  revivals,  it 

*For  many  excellent  suggestions  on  this  and  kindred  topics  see 
Caughey's  Methodism  in  Earnest,  Revival  Miscellanies,  and  other 
works. 


SOWING  AND  REAPING.  43 1 

is  evident  that  the  period  of  their  prevalence  has  not 
yet  arrived  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Nor  is  it 
certain  that  when  it  shall  arrive,  it  will  not  be  char- 
acterized with  more  or  less  alternation  of  seasons  and 
phases  of  growth  corresponding  to  seed-time  and  har- 
vest in  the  natural  world.  At  present  it  is  well  known 
that  revivals  are  not  often  enjoyed  except  in  sequence 
of  suitable  preparation,  whether  of  longer  or  shorter 
continuance.  It  is  furthermore  obvious  that  every 
species  of  well-directed  pastoral  labor  should  com- 
prehend future  as  well  as  present  designs.  Indeed, 
from  a  definite  aim  both  at  present  and  at  future  re- 
sults all  forms  of  Church  activity  derive  their  chief 
importance.  Without  such  an  aim,  supported  by  faith 
and  prayer,  much  of  our  Sunday-school  work,  tract 
distribution,  pastoral  visiting,  and  even  preaching 
would  lose  their  evangelical  significance  and  dwindle 
to  mere  ceremonies.  If  nothing  more  were  contem- 
plated, it  might  be  considered  a  sufficient  privilege 
to  spend  a  life-time  sowing  the  seed  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  But  the  "Lord  of  the  harvest"  has  been 
pleased  to  appoint  a  still  higher  privilege  to  his  labor- 
ers. "They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy.  He 
that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious  seed, 
shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing 
his  sheaves  with  him."     Ps.  cxxvi,  5,  6. 

Hence  every  sower  should  aim  also  to  be  a  reaper. 
While  he  should  scatter  the  seed  of  the  kingdom  with 
diligence,  and  earnestly  pray  for  both  the  former  and 
the  latter  rain  upon  it,  he  should  also  be  anxious  to 
thrust  in  the  sickle  and  reap  a  harvest  of  righteous- 
ness whenever  it  may  please  God  to  give  the  increase. 


432  REVIVALS  NECESSARY. 

"Hope  deferred"  may  sometimes  make  "the  heart 
sick,"  nevertheless  it  is  his  duty  to  "hope  and  be 
undismayed."  "The  word  of  God  will  not  return 
unto  him  void,  but  will  prosper  in  the  thing  where- 
unto  it  is  sent."  While  as  an  ultimate  result  this 
is  certain,  yet  the  salvation  of  souls  is  periled  by 
delay.  So  many  are  prone  to  content  themselves 
with  mere  forms  of  worship,  with  being  almost  per- 
suaded to  be  Christians,  and  with  the  various  delusive 
forms  of  procrastination  by  which  the  actual  service 
of  God  is  postponed,  that  the  effectual  work  of  grace 
is  hindered,  and  souls  that  have  been  brought  to  the 
very  verge  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  are  kept  in 
perpetual  jeopardy.  What  motives,  therefore,  crowd 
upon  a  pastor  to  urge  his  hearers  to  instant  decision, 
and  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  blessed  Spirit  of  awak- 
ening to  incline  them  to  repentance!  Unless  these 
ends  are  reached  souls  for  whom  he  has  labored  may 
perish  in  his  sight.  What  a  fatal  error,  therefore,  is  it 
for  a  pastor  to  be  wanting  in  either  faith  or  diligence 
in  revival  efforts  as  a  means  of  securing  the  fruits 
which  God  designs  to  bestow  as  a  result  of  faithful 
labor  in  his  vineyard !  But  it  is  not  always  allotted 
to  even  the  diligent  husbandman  to  reap  the  harvest 
sown  by  his  own  hand.  Thus  pastors  often  enter 
upon  the  labors  of  faithful  men  who  have  gone  before 
them,  and  they  in  turn  may  leave  seed  sown  to  be 
harvested  by  their  successors.  Yet  if  all  are  true 
to  their  proper  responsibilities,  whoever  may  gather 
"fruit  unto  eternal  life,"  both  "he  that  soweth  and 
he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together"  in  the  ultimate 
fruition  of  their  hope  and   toil.     This  theory  of  the 


THE  MEANS.  433 

i*ecessity  of  revivals  is  sustained  by  numerous  facts  in 
the  history  of  the  Church  of  God  in  different  periods 
and  countries.  Very  strikingly  has  it  been  illustrated 
in  the  history  of  Methodism.  This  fact  is  summarily 
and  officially  indicated  in  the  following  brief  extract 
of  one  of  the  pastoral  addresses  of  the  British  Wes- 
leyan  Conference,  (1840): 

'■'•  Some  Churches  regard  revivals  of  religion  as  gracious  sin- 
gularities in  their  history ;  we  regard  them  as  essential  to  our 
existence.  If  a  regular  series  of  divine  visitations,  issuing  in 
the  conversion  of  sinners,  be  not  vouchsafed  to  us,  we  must 
either  change  the  spiritual  constitution  of  our  Discipline,  or  we 
shall  pine  away  from  the  tribes  of  God's  Israel." 

Such  views  are  fully  entertained  by  the  Methodists 
of  America,  as  might  be  shown  by  numberless  refer- 
ences to  their  current  literature  and  official  documents. 

II.  The  second  question.  How  may  revivals  be  pro- 
moted .'*  is  almost  tantamount  to  the  inquiry :  In  what 
ways  may  ministers  and  Churches  realize  the  promise 
of  the  Father  in  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a 
gift  of  power  to  witness  effectively  for  God  and  Christ 
to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men  t  There  is  ob- 
viously a  human  and  a  divine  side  to  both  forms  of 
the  question.  Moreover,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  answer 
such  questions  by  the  summary  declaration  that  prayer 
and  obedience  are  the  essential  conditions  of  securing 
those  great  blessings.  Instead  of  such  merely  cate- 
gorical teaching,  the  inspired  writers  have  recorded 
for  the  instruction  of  the  Church  the  narrative  of  the 
Pentecostal  revival,  and  of  other  actual  agencies  em- 
ployed in  the  establishment  of  the  Churches  of  theii 
day.     Since  that  period,  facts  both  of  a  positive  and 

37 


434  REVIVAL   HISTORY. 

negative  character  have  been  accumulating  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  which  form  a  most  valuable  com- 
mentary upon  the  precepts  and  examples  of  Scripture. 
No  detailed  comparison  is  necessary  to  show  that  the 
Christian  events  of  the  last  century  and  a  half  corre- 
spond more  nearly  to  the  revivals  of  the  early  Church 
and  the  missionary  enterprises  of  the  apostolic  age 
than  those  of  any  of  the  intervening  periods.  Thus, 
the  revival  history  of  modern  times  has  come  to  be 
a  very  important  study  for  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
From  it  they  may  learn  that  lapse  of  time  does  not 
diminish  the  power  of  truth  or  the  influence  of  divine 
grace  upon  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men.  In  like  man- 
ner it  may  be  seen  that  the  effects  resulting  from  gen- 
uine revivals  of  religion  at  different  periods  of  time 
and  in  circumstances  the  most  diverse,  are  strikingly 
similar.  The  study  of  revival  history  also  throws  light 
upon  the  means  and  measures  best  adapted  to  the  pro- 
motion of  the  work  of  God  among  men. 

Whoever  would  see  these  principles  illustrated  in 
the  records  of  competent  witnesses  from  different 
parts  of  the  world  and  of  different  theological  views, 
would  do  well  to  compare  Jonathan  Edwards's  "  Nar- 
rative of  the  surprising  work  of  God  in  Northampton, 
Mass.,  1735,"  also,  his  "Thoughts  on  the  revival  of 
religion  in  New  England,  1740,"  with  authentic  his- 
tories of  the  revival  which  commenced  about  the  same 
time  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  under  the  la- 
bors of  Wesley  and  his  coadjutors.  Similar  compari- 
sons may  be  made  and  equally  striking  parallels  drawn 
from  the  accounts  of  other  revivals  with  which  God 
has  blessed  the  Church  in  greater  or  less  degree  from 


CHRISTIAN  PREPARATION.  435 

that  period  to  the  present  time.  Collate  for  instance 
the  accounts  of  revivals  in  the  Methodist  Churches  of 
England,  Ireland,  and  the  United  States  during  the 
century  following  1740  with  those  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Scotland,  in  1840,  under  the  labors 
of  M'Cheyne,  Burns,  Milne,  and  the  Bonars.  Again, 
compare  the  history  of  revival  scenes  and  experiences 
in  the  evangelical  Churches  in  America,  in  1857  and 
subsequently,  with  that  of  the  great  revival  in  Ireland, 
in  1859.  To  bring  the  comparison  to  a  still  later  day, 
let  it  embrace  accounts  of  the  recent  work  of  God  in 
Australia,  South  Africa,  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  and  In- 
dia side  by  side  with  the  revival  records  of  American 
camp-meetings  and  other  special  meetings  designed 
to  promote  religious  awakenings  and  conversions  for 
the  current  year,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  simi- 
larity of  result  in  all  essential  particulars  amounts  to 
identity. 

In  proceeding  to  notice  the  prominent  agencies  that 
deserve  to  be  recognized  as  means  for  the  promotion 
of  revivals,  it  is  proper  to  say  that  they  have  not  been 
employed  with  uniform  degrees  of  prominence  in  the 
past,  nor  are  they  recommended  as  specific  rules  for 
future  guidance  ;  nevertheless,  as  the  results  of  expe- 
rience and  in  harmony  with  scriptural  teaching,  they 
deserve  the  thoughtful  attention  of  ministers. 

I.  Christian  preparation. — The  message  of  John  the 
Baptist,  introductory  to  the  Savior's  advent,  was,  "  Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight." 
So  in  the  experience  of  Churches  there  needs  to  be 
moral  and  spiritual  preparation  for  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  and  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     The  great 


436  SPECIAL  PRAYER. 

and  ever-essential  agency  of  this  preparation  is  prayer, 
special,  earnest,  and  united  prayer.  "Ask  and  ye 
shall  receive,  seek  and  ye  shall  find,  knock  and  it  shall 
be  opened  unto  you." 

Special  prayer  for  a  revival  may  commence  in  a 
pastor's  own  closet.  It  may  expand  to  embrace  his 
family,  afterward  a  few,  and  at  length  many  in  the 
Church.  The  Fulton-street  prayer-meeting  in  New 
York,  when  originally  appointed,  was,  during  the  first 
half  hour,  only  attended  by  one  man,  but  he  found 
the  Savior  present,  and  without  idly  waiting  or  ad- 
journing to  a  more  convenient  season,  he  redeemed 
the  time  in  earnest  supplication.  Before  the  hour 
had  expired  a  few  others  came  in  to  join  him,  and 
from  this  small  beginning  commenced  a  wonderful 
and  glorious  work  of  grace.  So,  perhaps,  in  myriads 
of  cases  the  original  movers  in  great  religious  awaken- 
ings have  been  single  individuals,  the  answer  to  whose 
fervent  prayers  have  descended  on  others  who  have 
joined  them  in  praying  and  working  for  the  salvation 
of  men.  No  Christian,  therefore,  whether  layman  or 
pastor,  ever  ought  to  despair  of  being  instrumental  in 
promoting  a  revival  of  religion  so  long  as  he  has  ac- 
cess to  the  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace.  But  pastors 
have  at  once  greater  advantages  and  greater  respon- 
sibilities than  others  for  the  promotion  of  the  work  of 
the  Lord  by  this  instrumentality.  They  may  employ 
preaching  and  official  influence  as  a  means  of  promot- 
ing prayer  and  effort  for  the  salvation  of  men.  Indeed, 
it  is  the  obvious  duty  of  every  pastor  who  desires  to 
promote  a  revival  of  true  religion,  to  call  upon  his 
people  to  unite  with  him  in  fervent  and  continuous 


PRAYER  FOR  REVIVALS.  437 

prayer  for  the  preparation  of  the  Spirit,  for  fuller  ex- 
periences of  divine  grace,  and  for  all  requisite  qualifi- 
cations to  engage  efficiently  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
Many  well-meant  efforts  to  promote  revivals  prove 
abortive  for  lack  of  suitable  preparation.  Hence, 
while  the  right  spiritual  condition  of  the  Church 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of,  it  should  receive  the 
particular  attention  of  pastors  in  connection  with 
special  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.  In  this 
view  it  is  well  to  hold  select  meetings  of  believers  to 
pray  and  consult  together  in  reference  to  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  Church,  the  removal  of  stumbling-blocks 
and  the  necessity  of  effort  to  rescue  souls  from  sin 
and  death.  On  such  occasions  let  the  commands  and 
promises  of  God  be  faithfully  exhibited,  and  let  every 
one,  old  and  young,  male  and  female,  be  pledged  not 
only  to  prayer  but  to  immediate  and  united  effort. 

Prayer  for  the  revival  of  God's  work  should  also  be 
accompanied  with  fasting,  according  to  the  Savior's 
precepts.  Nor  should  it  be  vague  and  general,  but 
concentrated  upon  special  objects  and  individual  souls. 
One*  who  has  had  much  experience  in  revivals,  makes 
the  following  suggestions  as  to  concentrated  and  indi- 
vidual action  in  preparatory  efforts  for  the  awakening 
and  conversion  of  sinners  : 

"  Let  the  day  preceding  public  services  be  observed  by  all 
the  Church  members  as  a  season  of  special  prayer,  fasting,  or 
abstinence,  and  a  noon  or  afternoon  meeting  held  for  individual 
and  united  dedication  to  the  work.  All  subsequent  days  during 
the  continuance  of  the  special  services,  we  would  have  Christ's 
laborers  devote  one  half  hour  at  least,  by  rising  earlier  than  they 
have  been  accustomed,  to  spend  in  special  closet  prayer,  first 

*  Editor  of  "Guide  to  Holiness." 


438  GOD'S  FAVOR, 

asking  tliat  their  minds  may  be  directed  to  some  one  person  for 
whom  they  may  pray  during  the  day,  as  for  their  own  soul,  and 
whom  they  may  visit  and  lead  to  the  house  of  God,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, to  the  altar  of  prayer.  We  would  suggest  that  some  new  sub- 
j  ect  of  such  efforts  be  singled  out  daily.  We  would  also  urge  that 
this  be  done  with  each  successive  day,  in  the  spirit  of  sacrifice, 
casting  aside  that  enthusiastic  doctrine,  that  we  are  not  to  do  good 
unless  we  feel  free  to  it,  and  knowing  that  we  must  not  sacrifice 
to  God  that  which  co 
without  works  is  dead. 


to  God  that  which  costs  nothing,  remembering  also  that  faith 


The  highest  discretion  and  spiritual  discernment 
will  often  be  needed  to  determine  when  preparatory 
measures  for  the  promotion  of  a  revival  should  give 
place  to  other  forms  of  effort.  The  best  experience 
indeed  indicates  that  they  should  never  be  wholly 
superseded.  The  idea  of  religious  preparation  is  rel- 
ative. Some  in  a  Church  may  receive  it  sooner  than 
others,  and  the  same  persons  may  acquire  and  receive 
it  in  higher  and  increasing  degrees.  Therefore,  al- 
though not  exclusively,  let  the  work  of  renewed  and 
increased  preparation  be  kept  up  that  the  circle  of 
revival  influence  may  continue  to  widen  and  accumu- 
late power. 

2.  The  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Since  we  live 
under  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  it  is  not  so  much 
our  duty  to  wait  as  to  believe  for  his  manifestations. 
But  his  divine  manifestations  must  be  experienced  or 
there  is  no  true  revival  of  religion.  From  the  very 
beginning,  therefore,  and  all  along,  let  emphatic  prom- 
inence be  given  to  the  absolute  necessity  of  divine 
aid  to  accompany  and  render  effectual  all  the  means 
employed  for  the  promotion  of  God's  work  in  its 
various  forms.  Thus  may  feeble  humanity  join  with 
Omnipotence   for  the   accomplishment  of  the  divine 


REVIVAL  PREACHING.  439 

pleasure  in  the  spiritual  strengthening  of  the  Church 
and  the  salvation  of  the  ungodly.  Thus,  by  divinely 
instituted  means  may  the  Church  avail  herself  of  the 
resources  of  infinite  power  for  the  overthrow  of  Satan's 
kingdom  and  the  subduing  of  a  revolted  world  to  the 
sway  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  But  let  her  never  ex- 
pect success  if  she  embark  in  this  "  warfare  at  her  own 
charges,"  or  relying  on  her  own  unaided  strength  or 
wisdom. 

3.  Awakening  preaching.  "  How  shall  they  hear 
without  a  preacher.'*"  One  important  result  of  a  quick- 
ened experience  on  the  part  of  Church  members  is  a 
better  attendance  upon  the  various  means  of  grace. 
All  legitimate  efforts  should  be  employed  to  increase 
the  attendance  of  hearers  upon  the  preaching  of  the 
word.  While  other  agencies  are  sometimes  success- 
ful for  the  awakening  of  souls,  it  is  more  usually  with 
than  without  preaching,  which  is  God's  appointed 
means  for  that  great  end.  But  in  order  that  preach- 
ing may  answer  effectively  this  specific  object,  it  must 
be  aimed  at  it.  There  must  be  neither  vagueness  nor 
unbelief  in  the  preacher's  mind.  This  is  the  point  at 
which  many  pastors  fail,  and  because  they  fail  it  is 
often  necessary  that  evangelists,  who  make  revival 
preaching  a  specialty,  be  called  to  their  aid.  With 
reference  to  this  subject,  however,  no  rule  can  be 
prescribed.  In  some  cases  a  pastor's  work  is  so  la- 
borious that  he  must  have 'help  in  some  form,  and  it 
is  easier  to  secure  it  in  his  pulpit  than  in  his  pastoral 
administration.  Besides,  there  are  occasions  when 
variety  of  manner  and  matter  is  needed  to  awaken 
greater   interest  in  a   congregation.      Now   whether 


440  SEIZE   OPPORTUNITIES. 

this  help  and  variety  is  to  be  best  secured  by  ex- 
changes between  pastors,  or  by  the  employment  of  per- 
sons specially  engaged  in  the  work  of  evangelization, 
is  a  question  of  secondary  importance  compared  with 
the  necessity  of  having  preaching  in  all  respects 
adapted  to  the  circumstances  or  occasion  of  revival 
efforts.  Our  theory  is,  that  while  helpers,  as  above 
indicated,  may  often  render  most  valuable  aid,  yet  as 
a  rule,  all  pastors  should  be  revival  preach- 
ers, prepared  and  accustomed  to  conduct  special 
services  of  all  appropriate  kinds  connected  with  the 
promotion  of  God's  work  in  every  form  of  its  mani- 
festation. 

This  theory  has  been  contemplated  in  what  we  have 
written  in  a  previous  chapter,  and  elsewhere,*  on  the 
subject  of  preaching.  It  consequently  requires  no  vin- 
dication here,  although,  did  space  allow,  it  might  be 
corroborated  by  numerous  references  to  the  history  of 
revivals  and  of  those  ministers  whose  labors  have  been 
greatly  blessed  in  winning  souls  to  Christ. 

While  in  the  whole  course  of  his  ministry  a  pastor 
should  desire  and  endeavor  to  preach  "  the  Gospel  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven,"  i  Peter 
i,  12;  yet  in  revivals  of  religion,  and  in  efforts  to 
promote  them,  he  is  most  of  all  likely  to  feel  his  need 
of  divine  aid,  and  if  properly  sustained  by  the  prayers 
and  faith  of  God's  people,  he  may  hope  to  experience 
it  in  a  more  than  ordinary  degree.  When  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  poured  out  upon  a  community,  not  only  are 
the  consciences  of  the  people  more  tender  than  usual, 
but  the  soul  of  a  true  pastor  is  fired  with  unwonted 

*  Vide  Homiletics,  chapters  x  and  xvi. 


APPLY  THE    TRUTH.  44 1 

energy,  so  that  preaching  is  easy  and  delightful.  But 
let  him  not  on  those  accounts  be  neglectful  of  the 
special  preparation  which  the  circumstances  require. 
Rather  let  him  profit  by  those  circumstances,  and 
seek  to  derive  from  them  an  increase  of  power  for  his 
present  and  permanent  work.  If  previously  he  has 
sowed  the  true  seed  of  the  kingdom  and  watered  it 
with  his  prayers  and  tears,  now  is  the  time  to  thrust 
in  his  sickle  and  reap  for  the  garner  of  the  Lord.  If 
in  calmer  scenes  he  has  interested  and  instructed  the 
people  in  Christian  truth,  now  is  the  time  to  apply 
that  truth  more  effectively  to  the  conscience,  and  urge 
instantaneous  and  thorough  obedience  to  its  mandates. 
If  he  has  before  made  known  his  commission  as  hav- 
ing had  committed  to  him  "  the  word  of  reconcilia- 
tion," he  should  now  as  an  embassador  for  Christ,  as 
though  God  did  beseech  them  by  him,  entreat  them 
in  Christ's  stead,  "  be  ye  reconciled  to  God."  By  the 
use  of  the  term  awakening,  as  characteristic  of  the 
preaching  adapted  to  promote  revivals  of  religion,  it 
is  by  no  means  intended  to  intimate  that  the  doc- 
trines of  Christianity  are  to  be  omitted,  least  of  all 
substituted  by  harangues,  exhortations,  or  any  species 
of  sensational  address.  On  the  other  hand,  doctrinal 
truth  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  great  instrumentality 
of  awakening  souls  to  a  just  sense  of  their  condition 
and  danger,  as  well  as  to  a  perception  of  the  remedy 
provided.  Nevertheless,  the  dry  and  didactic  forms 
which  often  swathe  doctrinal  sermons  as  in  a  wind- 
ing-sheet, should  be  rejected,  and  every  effort  made  to 
express  scriptural  doctrine  with  life,  energy,  and  sym- 
pathy, as  well  as  with  faithfulness. 


442  PERSONAL  APPLICATION. 

In  discharging  the  duties  of  his  vocation  as  a 
preacher,  the  faithful  pastor  should  not  content  him- 
self with  public  proclamations  of  the  truth,  but  should 
seek  opportunities  for  private  and  individual  address. 
It  is  not  by  communities,  or  even  by  families,  that  men 
are  saved.  The  great  transaction  of  being  reconciled 
to  God  is  personal.  "To  his  own  master"  each  one 
"  standeth  or  falleth."  Hence,  although  the  embassa- 
dor of  Christ  may  fitly  deliver  his  message  to  assem- 
bled multitudes,  yet  in  order  to  make  sure  of  its  proper 
reception,  he  should  count  it  a  joy  to  apply  it  indi- 
vidually and  separately  to  a  single  soul  whenever  oc- 
casion may  be  secured,  thus  adapting  himself  "to  all 
men,  that  he  may  by  all  means  save  some."  But 
whether  laboring  in  public  or  in  private  the  faithful 
pastor  must  never  allow  his  hearers  to  forget  that  the 
great  problem  at  issue  is  their  conversion  and  con- 
tinued allegiance  to  God.  He  must  consequently 
place  before  them  with  urgency  and  reiteration  the 
unalterable  conditions  of  salvation  as  prescribed  by 
our  Lord  himself. 

In  doing  his  whole  duty,  and  doing  it  faithfully, 
the  pastor  will  at  least  deliver  his  own  soul,  and  can. 
hardly  fail  of  success  in  saving  them  that  hear  him. 
But  though  success  should  not  be  apparent,  let  him 
not  be  discouraged,  and  particularly  on  the  ground 
that  he  does  not  possess  the  peculiar  talents  of  other 
men.  God  can  use  every  species  of  talent  for  the 
promotion  of  his  own  glory,  and  each  individual's  re- 
sponsibility is  to  use  with  diligence  and  entire  devo- 
tion the  very  kind  and  degree  of  talent  which  God 
has  bestowed  upon  him.     While  therefore  God's  ordi- 


CONTINUOUS  EFFORT.  443 

nance  of  preaching  is  thus  diligently  and  faithfully 
employed,  both  ministers  and  members  have  still  other 
work  to  do. 

4.  Continuous  Christian  effort  must  be  the  order  of 
the  day  and  the  rule  of  Church  life.  Under  this  head 
various  important  duties  may  be  enumerated  without 
detailed  explanations,  such  as 

(i.)  Prayer  for  sinners  and  penitents. 

(2.)  Christian  conversation  with  friends,  neighbors, 
and  acquaintances,  warning  them  faithfully  and  en- 
treating them  earnestly  to  "  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come"  and  "lay  hold  on  eternal  life." 

(3-)  Jndicions  instrnction  to  those  inquiring  the  way 
to  Zion.  This  important  duty  falls  specially  within 
the  range  of  pastoral  responsibility.  While,  therefore, 
a  pastor  may  avail  himself  of  the  aid  of  judicious 
Christian  friends  he  should  on  no  account  allow  seek- 
ers of  religion  to  be  disturbed  or  confused  by  the  at- 
tentions of  persons  either  incompetent  or  injudicious, 
however  well  meaning.  It  is  better  a  thousand-fold 
that  a  penitent  be  left  to  the  teachings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  mercies  of  the  Savior  than  to  have  his 
attention  diverted  from  the  burden  of  his  soul  when 
he  is  beginning  to  pray,  by  the  officious  exhortations 
of  persons  not  competent  to  give  instruction  in  such 
a  crisis  of  one's  life  and  destiny.* 

(4.)  Fervent  praise.  The  Church  should  illustrate 
the  duty  of  praise  in  her  own  earnest  devotions.  While 
many  of  her  prayers  may  be  fitly  breathed  in  solemn 
song,  the  privilege  of  giving  glory  to  God  in  the  high- 
est  is   the  present  heritage  of  his   lowliest   children. 

*See  "Bramwell's  Rules  for  Prayer-Meetings,"  chapter  x. 


444  YOUNG   CHRISTIANS. 

And  never  is  the  voice  of  praise  more  appropriate 
than  when  the  glories  of  the  Redeemer  are  exhibited 
and  the  blessings  of  the  Divine  Comforter  imparted 
to  waiting  hearts. 

The  writer  above  quoted  in  reference  to  Christian 
preparation  also  says  : 

"  Let  some  energetic,  spirit-baptized  men  and  women  take 
charge  of  the  service  of  song.  Funeral  dirges  must  not  be 
sung  when  an  army  goes  forth  to  battle.  An  inspiring  hymn 
sung  while  the  congregation  is  assembling  aids  in  giving  tone  to 
the  succeeding  service,  and  furnishes  its  quota  toward  bringing 
out  the  people  early.  Let  some  spirit-fired  man  be  appointed 
to  gather  around  him  those  who  throughout  the  series  of  services 
shall  make  it  his  business  to  start  appropriate  songs  of  Zion." 

(5.)  The  activity  of  youjtg  converts.  All  young  con- 
verts should  be  encouraged  and  habituated  to  bear 
witness  in  all  appropriate  ways  for  Jesus  as  their 
Savior  from  sin.  They  will  thus  learn  to  use  and  in- 
crease their  moral  power  from  the  very  beginning  of 
their  Christian  career.  "  I  believed,  therefore  have  I 
spoken,"  said  David.    Jonathan  Edwards  said : 

"  There  is  no  one  thing  that  I  know  of,  that  God  has  made  such 
a  means  of  promoting  his  work  among  us  as  the  news  of  others' 
conversion  in  the  awakening  of  sinners,  and  engaging  them  ear- 
nestly to  seek  the  same  blessing,  and  in  the  quickening  of  saints." 

Thousands  of  faithful  ministers  since  the  days  of 
Edwards  have  witnessed  similar  results  from  a  will- 
ing declaration,  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  re- 
ceived the  divine  blessing,  of  what  he  has  done  for 
their  souls. 

Not  to  dwell  upon  these  and  kindred  duties  so 
essential  to  the  promotion  of  God's  work  in  any 
community,  a  few  remarks  may  be  made  on  the  dif- 


EXTRA  RELIGIOUS  SERVICES.  445 

ferent  forms  of  Christian  effort,  which,  in  recent  pe- 
riods-^ have  been  found  efficacious  for  the  same  object. 

A.  Protracted  Meetings.  During  the  last  half  cen- 
tury, this  term  has  come  to  be  applied  to  special, 
continuous  services  designed  to  promote  revivals  of 
religion.  In  their  general  design  such  services  are 
not  new,  but  are  analogous  to  the  holy  convoca- 
tions of  the  Jews,  and  to  the  daily  religious  serv- 
ices of  the  apostles  during  the  scenes  of  the  Pente- 
cost. Yet  it  is  not  claimed  that  they  were  instituted 
in  direct  imitation  of  either  of  the  analogies  named. 
In  point  of  fact,  they  sprang  up  as  means  to  an  end  ; 
a  practical  necessity  growing  out  of  a  prevalent  con- 
cern for  the  salvation  of  souls.  In  this  respect  they 
are  like  the  apostolic  assemblies,  and  also  in  the 
feature  of  being  held  whenever  there  is  opportunity 
and  a  promise  of  good  results,  and  not  at  fixed  sea- 
sons like  the  Jewish  festivals  and  the  festivals  of  the 
ancient  Christian  Church. 

The  latter  had  in  them  an  element  of  historic 
commemoration  which  may  have  had  an  intrinsic 
value  for  the  times  for  which  they  were  instituted, 
but  they  were  not  of  apostolic  origin  nor  in  full 
harmony  with  apostolic  teaching.  The  apostle  Paul 
not  only  taught  the  abrogation  of  the  Jewish  times 
and  seasons,  but  of  the  legal  principle  involved  in 
them.  (See  Rom.  xiv,  5;  Gal.  iv,  9-12;  Col.  ii,  16.) 
The  design  of  this  abrogation  was  to  promote  a 
higher  spirituality  than  had  been  known  in  the 
former  dispensation,  and  which  should  be  superior 
to  the  observance  of  new  moons  and  holy  days, 
although  preserving  on   the  first  day  of  the  week — 


446  ANCIENT  ANALOGIES. 

the  Lord's  day — the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath.  But 
in  subsequent  periods,  as  that  spirituality  became 
marred  and  threatened  with  extinction,  a  necessity 
was  felt  for  certain  exterior  observances  that  should 
favorably  occupy  the  minds  of  those  calling  them- 
selves Christians.  Hence,  besides  the  weekly  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  day  and  the  feasts  of  Wednesday 
and  Friday,  numerous  annual  festivals  were  estab- 
lished. Of  these,  that  of  Easter  extended  through 
fifteen  days ;  that  of  Pentecost  or  Whitsuntide  fifty 
days,  and  the  Lent  fast  through  forty  days.  Re- 
specting the  latter,  Cassian,  a  disciple  of  Chrysostom, 
says  : 

"As  long  as  the  perfection  of  the  primitive  Church  remained 
inviolable,  there  was  no  observation  of  Lent,  but  when  men  be- 
gan to  decline  from  the  apostolical  fervor  of  devotion  and  give 
themselves  overmuch  to  worldly  affairs,  then  the  priests  in  gen- 
eral agreed  to  recall  them  from  secular  cares  by  a  canonical 
indiction  of  fasting  and  setting  aside  a  tenth  of  their  time 
for  God." 

Chrysostom  gives  a  similar  view  of  the  subject. 
In  his  fifty-second  homily  he  says : 

"  Why  do  we  fast  these  forty  days  ?  Many  heretofore  were 
used  to  come  to  the  communion  indevoutly  and  inconsiderately; 
therefore  our  forefathers,  considering  tlie  mischief  of  such  care- 
less approaches,  meeting  together,  appointed  forty  days  for  fast- 
ing and  prayer  and  hearing  of  sermons  and  holy  assemblies." 

Augustine  also  says  : 

"Though  fasting  in  general  be  prescribed  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, yet  what  days  men  ought  to  fast  or  not  to  fast  is  not  de- 
fined by  any  precept  of  Christ  or  his  apostles." 

Hence  he  deduces  the  just  conclusion  that  for  the 
observance   of  Easter,   Pentecost,  and  Lent  there  is 


CHRISTIAN  FESTIVALS.  447 

no  command  higher  than  that  of  councils  and  the 
custom  of  the  Church.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
multiplication  of  days  of  religious  observance,  in- 
cluding the  festivals  of  martyrs  and  canonized  saints, 
continued  to  increase  in  the  Greek  and  Roman 
Churches  in  proportion  to  their  apostasy  from  the 
faith  and  practice  of  the  original  Church  of  Christ. 
On  this  account  a  strong  reaction  against  such  observ- 
ances manifested  itself  in  most  Protestant  Churches 
after  the  Reformation,  though  some  of  them  retained 
Lenten  services  and  the  more  important  festivals. 
But  even  those  Churches  which  most  uncompromis- 
ingly rejected  the  post-apostolic  observances,  when 
they  have  become  spiritually  revived  and  thoroughly 
in  earnest  about  eternal  things,  have,  as  it  were,  spon- 
taneously allotted  extra  periods  of  time  to  religious 
services.  Granting  the  propriety,  and  what  is  more, 
the  moral  necessity  of  doing  this  as  a  voluntary  of- 
fering to  God,  it  is  a  question  of  secondary  import- 
ance whether  the  time  thus  devoted  to  God's  special 
service  be  periodical  or .  occasional,  limited  to  a  cer- 
tain number  of  days  at  particular  seasons  of  the 
year,  or  appointed  and  extended  according  to  the 
indications  of  Providence  from  time  to  time.  The 
latter  view  defines  the  idea  of  a  protracted  meet- 
ing, which,  although  it  might  concede  that  Lent, 
Easter,  and  Whitsuntide  are  very  suitable  periods 
for  extra  religious  effort,  would,  nevertheless,  claim 
that  other  periods  of  the  year  might  be  equally 
favorable.  The  essential  character  of  the  services 
in  question  is  an  earnest  waiting  upon  God  for  the 
outpouring    of    the   Holy   Spirit,   accompanied   by  a 


448         ADVANTAGES  OF  SPECIAL  SERVICES. 

diligent  employment  of  preaching  and  other  instru- 
mentalities for  the  awakening  and  conversion  of  men. 
To  whatever  extent  this  character  may  be  main- 
tained in  Lenten  and  other  periodical  services,  it  may 
be  conceded  that  they  would  possess  an  advanage 
from  their  regular  annual  occurrence — an  advantage 
lost  in  every  Church  which  might,  during  a  year, 
omit  extra  efforts  for  the  cause  of  God.  On  the 
other  hand,  serious  disadvantage  would  arise  from 
the  prevalence  of  an  idea  that  the  intervals  between 
the  Christian  festivals  are  ill-adapted  to  religious  ac- 
tivity, or  in  any  sense  to  be  given  up  to  religious 
indifference.  Whether,  therefore,  regular  or  occa- 
sional, special  services  adapted  to  the  awakening  of 
rehgious  zeal  and  the  judicious  employment  of  ex- 
traordinary effort  in  the  cause  of  God,  are  to  be 
commended. 

Some  of  the  advantages  which  they  contemplate 
may  be  thus  stated  : 

1.  They  become  to  Christians  an  opportunity  of 
united  prayer  for  the  help  of  God,  and  of  combined 
action  for  the  welfare  of  men. 

2.  They  accustom  Christians  to  the  more  active 
discharge  of  their  personal  and  public  duties,  and  thus 
increase  the  moral  power  of  the  Church. 

3.  They  secure  opportunities  for  the  continued  and 
pointed  application  of  truth  to  the  hearts  of  those 
who  can  be  induced  to  hear. 

4.  They  afford  to  persons  desirous  to  escape  from 
the  power  of  sinful  habits  and  associations  the  offered 
help  and  sympathy  of  persons  who  have  experienced 
deliver  ince    from   a   similar    bondage   of  corruption, 


THEIR  ADAPTATIONS.  449 

and  also  the  opportunity  of  concentrated  continuous 
thought  upon  eternal  objects. 

5.  They  are  in  accordance  with  the  supreme  im- 
portance of  the  soul's  interests,  and  with  a  just  con- 
ception of  the  shortness  of  hfe  and  the  nearness  of 
eternity. 

6.  They  have  a  tendency  to  remove  out  of  the  way 
of  the  unconverted  various  embarrassments  which, 
in  other  circumstances,  hinder  their  reception  and 
practice  of  the  truth. 

7.  They  greatly  facilitate  decision  for  God  and 
the  practice  qjf  Christian  duties  by  the  influence  of 
example,  and  what  is  best  and  most  necessary  of  all, 
the  prevailing  aid  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 

In  order  to  realize  these  and  other  like  advantages, 
special  religious  services  of  every  kind  should  be  so 
conducted  that  their  moral  and  religious  influence 
should  not  be  spasmodic  but  permanent;  not  likely 
to  terminate  with  the  period  of  special  eflbrt,  but  to 
be  transferred  forward  into  the  life  of  Christians  and 
of  the  Church  with  ever-accumulating  power. 

B.  Camp- Meetings.  Camp-meetings  originated  prov- 
identially about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
in  Kentucky.  They  were  wonderfully  blessed  as  re- 
vival agencies  from  the  first,  and  were  soon  found  to 
be  peculiarly  adapted  to  meet  the  religious  necessities 
of  the  great  western  frontier  of  the  United  States, 
then,  for  the  first,  becoming  occupied  with  settlers. 
At  that  period,  throughout  the  vast  regions  beyond 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  the  population  being  sparse, 
and  churches  few  and  small,  the  only  mode  of  con- 
vening large  assemblies  was  to  appoint  a  meeting  in 

38 


45b  ORIGINAL  CAMP- MEETINGS. 

some  central  locality,  where  the  people  could  come 
from  long  distances  and  remain  several  days.  Of 
course  they  had  to  come  by  private  conveyances,  and 
to  bring  with  them  conveniences  for  shelter  and  sub- 
sistence, while  they  should  avail  themselves  of  the 
quiet  of  some  pleasant  grove  for  their  open-air  meet- 
ings. Having  left  home  and  cares  behind.  Christian 
people  found  these  gatherings  favorable  to  mutual  ac- 
quaintance and  the  mingling  of  religious  sympathies, 
as  well  as  to  special  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  uncon- 
verted, who,  from  curiosity  and  other  motives,  came 
in  great  numbers.  To  multitudes,  who  for  months 
or  years  had  been  secluded  from  the  privileges  of 
regular  worship,  these  occasions  afforded  opportuni- 
ties of  hearing  awakening  and  instructive  sermons, 
of  renewing  their  vows,  or  of  commencing  a  religious 
life.  Such  experiences  were  what  they  most  of  all 
needed,  and, -having  been  secured,  their  possessors 
could  return  home  prepared  to  exert  a  happy  and 
permanent  Christian  influence  in  their  several  neigh- 
borhoods. 

Camp-meetings  were  originally  participated  in  by 
Presbyterians  as  freely  as  by  Methodists.  But  in 
subsequent  years  they  were  chiefly  continued  by  the 
latter.  The  revivals  that  followed  those  meetings  in 
the  West  caused  them  to  be  adopted  in  older  por- 
tions of  the  country.  From  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee they  were  introduced  into  Virginia  and  other 
Atlantic  States,  and  thenceforward  became  a  recog- 
nized and  powerful  agency  of  evangelization  in  nearly 
every  part  of  the  American  Union.  When  properly 
organized  and  conducted,  camp-meetings  combine  all 


AN  INSTANCE.  45  I 

the  advantages  of  protracted  meetings,  and  even  in- 
tensify them  by  uninterrupted  continuity  throughout 
successive  days.  The  following  brief  description 
of  a  meeting  held  in  Virginia,  in  1803,  illustrates 
at  once  the  character,  objects,  and  results  of  camp- 
meetings,  such  as  they  were  at  first,  and  ever  ought 
to  be.  It  was  written  by  Jesse  Lee,  of  historic 
memory,  who  was  present  as  a  participant: 

"Every  discourse  and  every  exhortation  given  during  the 
meeting  was  attended  by  displays  of  the  divine  power.  Almost 
every  hour  and  every  minute  was  employed  in  the  worship  of 
God.  A  little  time  was  spent  in  seeking  refreshment  and  in 
necessary  repose,  but  each  endeavored  to  improve  his  time  to 
the  best  advantage,  and  seemed  satisfied  only  with  the  hidden 
manna  of  God's  love  and  the  living  streams  of  his  grace.  More 
than  a  hundred  living  witnesses  for  Jesus  were  raised  up  at  this 
meeting." 

Camp-meetings  are  obviously  practicable  only  in 
Summer,  and  it  used  to  be  supposed  that,  following 
a  dense  settlement  of  the  country  and  an  adequate 
supply  of  churches,  they  would  cease  to  be  held.  But 
events  have  proved  them  to  be  too  important  auxil- 
iaries of  evangelization  to  be  dispensed  with.  Indeed, 
with  the  recent  increase  of  Christian  zeal  for  promot- 
ing the  religious  welfare  of  the  masses  of  our  grow- 
ing population,  by  means  of  open-air  meetings  and  all 
other  available  agencies,  they  have  assumed  a  new 
importance,  and  prospects  of  permanence  not  known 
before.  In  many  localities,  choice  grounds  have  been 
purchased,  pleasantly  fitted  up,  and  secured  in  perpe- 
tuity for  camp-meeting  purposes.  The  design  in  such 
cases  is  to  hold  an  annual  assembly  for  religious  wor- 
ship and  revival  services.     It  is  obvious,  that,  at  the 


452  PRESENT  IMPORTANCE, 

present  period  of  the  history  of  camp-meetings,  there . 
is  necessity  for  watchfulness  against  various  evils  that 
might  mar  their  usefulness  and  future  promise.  On 
the  one  hand,  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  degenerate 
into  rustic  picnics ;  nor,  on  the  other,  must  they  be 
suffered  to  interfere  with  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath, 
by  encouraging  travel  on  God's  holy  day,  or  the  in- 
terruption of  Sunday  services  in  the  churches  of  their 
vicinity.  At  the  same  time,  they  must  be  prosecuted 
in  the  spirit  of  sacrifice,  of  humble  zeal,  and  of  de- 
vout religious  activity. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  every  Methodist  pastor  will 
have  an  opportunity  once  a  year  to  attend  a  camp- 
meeting,  in  company  with  considerable  numbers  of  his 
people.  This  being  the  case,  the  pastor  has  the  double 
responsibility  of  preparing  his  congregation  to  derive 
benefits  from  the  meeting,  and  to  confer  benefit  upon 
it.  Both  objects  will  be  subserved,  not  only  by  his 
so  explaining  the  objects  as  to  induce  a  large  and 
regular  attendance,  but  also  by  his  keeping  up  the 
full  influence  of  organized  Church  activity  on  the 
ground.  Without  the  latter  there  is  danger  that  both 
the  pastor  and  his  Church  members  will  lose  their 
sense  of  responsibility,  and  become  idlers  instead  of 
workers  among  the  multitudes  with  whom  they  min- 
gle. For  lack  of  suitable  organization,  of  "  wheels 
within  the  wheel,"  many  camp-meetings  prove  at  least 
comparative  failures,  and  for  a  similar  reason  many 
Churches  fail  to  receive  special  benefit  from  attend- 
ance upon  them.  Various  Church  organizations,  har- 
moniously blended  in  a  grand  scheme  of  evangelical 
effort,  are  what  is  needed,  and  what  will  conduce  to 


PASTORAL   RESPONSIBILITIES.  453 

the  highest  good  of  all.  Such  sub-organizations  ob- 
viously depend  upon  the  several  pastors  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  president  of  the  meeting.  They  are 
needed  ahke  for  the  general  success  of  a  camp- 
meeting  as  a  means  of  throwing  proper  influences 
around  young  converts,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  car- 
rying back  revival  influences  into  the  several  Churches 
represented.  The  best  antidote  to  the  possible  evils 
of  camp-meetings  is  found  in  the  presence  of  judi- 
cious co-operation  of  pastors  who  feel  themselves  re- 
sponsible to  secure  all  possible  spiritual  benefit  for  the 
Churches  and  communities  they  represent.  Hence 
pastors  should  not  leave  their  proper  fields  of  labor 
to  attend  remote  camp-meetings  as  lookers-on,  or  in 
the  possible  expectation  of  being  invited  to  preach  to 
immense  congregations.  Rather  they  should  go,  and 
as  a  rule  should  limit  their  going,  to  meetings  where 
they  are  wanted  as  workers,  both  out  of  the  pulpit 
and  in  it,  and  where  both  they  and  their  people  can 
effectively  co-operate,  for  the  great  objects  in  view. 
A  redundancy  of  ministerial  help  at  any  camp-meet- 
ing is  to  be  deprecated  rather  than  desired,  and  a 
pastor  who  can  not  or  will  not  work  at  such  a  place 
had  better  be  attending  to  his  work  or  studies  at 
home. 

C.  Daily  prayer-meetings.  Short  daily  meetings  at 
noon,  or  sometimes  at  other  hours,  for  prayer  and 
exhortation,  have,  within  a  few  years  past,  proved  to 
be  the  means  and  occasions  of  great  spiritual  good. 
They  are  most  practicable  in  cities,  and  are  in  most 
cities  among  the  recognized  agencies  within  the  prov- 
ince of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations.     Never- 


454  REVIVAL  fruits: 

theless,  pastors  and  other  ministers  should  take  an 
interest  in  them,  both  as  a  means  of  sharing  in  the 
spiritual  advantages  they  secure,  and  as  a  means  of 
exerting  a  wholesome  influence  on  those  who  attend 
them.  They  are  subject  to  the  various  suggestions 
heretofore  made  in  reference  to  prayer-meetings  and 
social  worship. 

III.  The  best  means  of  husbanding  the  fruits  of 
revivals.  This  subject  is  so  identified  with  the  main 
design  of  this  whole  volume  that  it  will  only  require 
brief  notice  in  this  immediate  connection.  If  noth- 
ing else  were  to  be  said,  scriptural  example  should 
be  noted  as  our  safe  and  authoritative  guide  in  refer- 
ence to  it.  From  the  sacred  record  we  learn  that 
our  Savior  organized  his  disciples  into  a  Church, 
to  which  he  specially  confided  his  commands  and 
instructions.  Following  in  his  steps,  the  apostles 
organized  Churches  wherever  they  went  preaching 
the  gospel.  In  harmony  with  these  examples,  all 
valid  experience,  from  that  day  to  this,  prescribes  a 
spiritual  Church  as  the  proper  home  of  truly  awak- 
ened and  converted  souls.  In  an  important  sense  all 
persons  recently  renewed  by  divine  grace  are  lambs 
of  Christ's  spiritual  flock.  As  such  they  need  to  be 
gathered  within  the  fold,  and  nourished  and  fed  with 
spiritual  food.  'In  other  words,  persons  who  are  the 
spiritual  fruits  of  revival  eflbrts  need, 

1.  To  be  sheltered  and  protected  from  worldly  influ- 
ences by  being  enrolled  as  members  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

2.  They  need  to  be  carefully  instructed  in  Christian 
truth  and  duty. 


DUTY  OF  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP.  455 

3.  They  need,  under  suitable  guidance,  to  be  en- 
couraged and  accustomed  to  Christian  activity,  both 
in  their  personal,  domestic,  and  public  relations. 
These  several  objects  fall  within  the  sphere  of  pas- 
toral effort,  and  when  they  receive  their  full  measure 
of  attention  the  fruits  of  revivals  may  be  expected  to 
become  both  permanent  and  self-multiplying.  It  is 
to  be  feared  that  this  branch  of  ministerial  duty  has 
been  too  much  overlooked,  and  that  consequently 
many  persons  who  have  been  actually  converted  have 
not  only  been  lost  to  the  Church,  but  have  suffered 
in  their  own  highest  interests,  either  by  leading  lives 
of  spiritual  feebleness,  or  lapsing  into  indifference  and 
spiritual  death.  If  in  the  day  of  eternity  it  should 
prove  that  such  cases  were  indeed  many,  how  serious 
would  be  the  account  of  all  pastors  and  others  whose 
lack  of  faithfulness  in  duty  contributed  in  any  degree 
to  so  sad  a  result!  It  is  obvious  that  the  full  dis- 
charge of  these  duties  can  only  be  accomplished  after 
the  persons  in  question  have  connected  themselves 
with  the  Church  as  its 'members.  Hence  it  is  clearly 
the  duty  of  pastors  to  set  before  young  converts  the 
motives  for  identifying  themselves  with  the  Christian 
Church.  In  doing  this  they  should  rise  above  secta- 
rian motives,  and,  inasmuch  as  the  Christian  Church 
of  the  present  day  has  various  branches,  they  should 
encourage  an  intelligent  choice  in  favor  of  that  par- 
ticular branch  which  seems  to  the  individual  most  in 
harmony  with  his  views  of  truth,  privilege,  and  duty. 
If,  in  acting  upon  this  principle  or  otherwise,  some 
withdraw  from  the  watch-care  of  a  pastor  to  whom 
they  had    formerly  sustained    relations,    his   work   is 


4S6  EVANGELICAL  AGGRESSION. 

ended  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  and  his  ener- 
gies are  thenceforth  to  be  devoted  to  those  who  are 
properly  under  his  pastoral  supervision. 

4.  Young  Christians  need  Church  sympathy.  Pas- 
tors should  therefore  see  that  all  who  come  and  can 
be  retained  within  their  influence  are  duly  surrounded 
and  strengthened  by  congenial  and  advantageous  as- 
sociations. 

These  and  kindred  objects  devolve  tireless  efforts, 
as  well  as  grave  responsibilities,  on  pastors.  But,  as 
every  true  pastor  will  love  work  rather  than  ease,  he 
will  only  ask  for  an  opportunity  and  a  system  of  work 
well  adapted  to  the  ends  in  view.  At  this  poiirt  a 
question  of  great  practical  importance  is  encountered. 
Does  the  system  explained  and  advocated  in  these 
pages  contain  or  lack  the  elements  of  a  high  degree 
of  pastoral  success  .-*  The  latter  has  often  been  as- 
serted, even  by  those  who  have  professed  great  admi- 
ration for  Methodism  as  an  evangelical  power.  One 
of  the  ablest  critics  of  "Wesley  and  Methodism"* 
has  characterized  the  latter  as  "a  scheme  of  evan- 
gelical aggression"  that  "has  proved  itself  hith- 
erto the  most  efficiently  expansive  Christian  institute 
which  modern  times  have  seen."  The  same  author 
justly  attributes  its  "unexampled  success"  to  its 
"unity  of  intention"  and  to  its  "steady  pursuit 
OF  A  GREAT  PRINCIPLE."  He  also  couccdcs  that  "as 
a  Church  system  it  has  the  great  and  commanding 
merit  of  embodying  the  evangelic  impulse  as  its  one 
law  and  reason."!  Nevertheless,  the  same  author, 
while  admitting  that  the  itinerancy  of  Methodism  is 

*  Isaac  Taylor.  fPp.  201  and  202. 


METHODISM  AND    THE  PASTORATE.  457 

a  very  important  agency  of  its  power  of  evangelic 
aggression,  confidently  asserts  that  it  can  not  furnish 
pastors.  A  portion  of  his  language  is  this:  "It  is 
not  within  the  range  of  possibility  that  Christian  em- 
inence of  this  species  [the  pastoral]  can  be  nurtured 
or  can  find  its  field  of  exercise  under  the  stern  and 
ungenial  conditions  of  an  itinerant  ministry."*  He 
even  speaks  of  Wesleyanism  as  "  destitute  of  pastors," 
although,  being  vigorously  worked,  it  may  "find  an 
equivalent  among  its  other  provisions." 

The  proper  reply  to  such  assertions  is  that  the 
author  knew  not  whereof  he  affirmed.  At  least  he 
very  imperfectly  comprehended  many  topics  concern- 
ing which  he  wrote  with  the  most  self-satisfied  dog- 
matism. Of  the  English  Methodism  of  his  own  day 
he  had  only  the  most  narrow  and  distorted  concep- 
tions, while  of  American  Methodism  he  was  wholly 
ignorant.  If  he  had  charged  that  both  in  England 
and  America  many  ministers  connected  with  this 
recognized  scheme  of  evangelic  aggression  had  failed 
to  appreciate  the  full  importance  of  the  pastoral  work, 
and  that  some  of  them  had  accepted  the  opinions  of 
opponents  of  their  system  to  the  efiect  that  thorough 
pastoral  work  can  not  be  done  by  itinerant  ministers, 
his  statements  could  not  have  been  denied.  Nor  can 
it  be  denied  that  to  whatever  extent  such  views  have 
been  accepted  the  Church  has  suffered,  and  ministers 
have  formed  habits  prejudicial  to  their  own  largest 
success.  But  the  imperfect  comprehension  or  the 
incomplete  employment  of  a  system  does  not  nec- 
essarily prove  any  defectiveness  of  the  system  itself. 

*Page  124. 
39 


45  S  ESSENTIAL  UNION. 

Indeed,  it  is  easy  to  show  to  any  unprejudiced  mind 
that  the  system  of  itinerancy,  as  now  developed  and 
improved  by  experience,  is  as  free  from  essential  dif- 
ficulties in  reference  to  an  efficient  pastorate  as  any 
other  practicable  system  of  ministerial  supply. 

The  great  thing  needed  is  for  ministers  to  under- 
stand thoroughly  and  improve  diligently  the  opportu- 
nities secured  by  the  system  as  we  have  it.  In  doing 
80,1  pastors  will  strive  to  maintain  a  just  balance  be- 
tween active  and  judicious  revival  measures  and  that 
diligent  oversight  and  faithful  instruction  by  which 
the  good  results  of  revivals  are  made  a  permanent 
blessing  both  to  their  subjects  and  to  the  ChurclL-A 
Such  efforts  will  doubtless  continue  to  prove  what 
the  experience  of  Methodist  and  other  evangelical 
Churches  has  often  demonstrated,  namely,  that  gen- 
uine revivals  of  religion  depend  on  no  human  instru- 
mentality more  than  on  that  thorough  organization 
and  general  Christian  activity  which  are  impossible 
without  efficient  pastoral  administration,  while  to  the 
latter  agency,  inclusive  of  instructive  preaching,  we 
must  ever  look  for  the  most  abiding  fruits  of  revivals. 


CHRISTIANITY  SOCIAL.  459 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

PASTORAL  VISITING. 

CHRISTIANITY  is  an  eminently  social  religion. 
Exclusiveness  and  non-intercourse  are  out  of 
harmony  with  its  precepts  of  love  and  kindness. 
But  the  sociality  it  enjoins  is  not  to  be  cultivated 
merely  for  the  sake  of  mutual  enjoyment.  It  is  also 
to  be  consecrated  to  the  promotion  of  the  highest 
religious  advantage.  This  is  true  in  all  the  rela- 
tions mutually  sustained  by  Christians  toward  each 
other.  It  is  especially  true  as  between  a  pastor 
and  his  people.  Indeed,  the  principle  of  Christian 
sociality  was  designed  and  consecrated  from  the  be- 
ghining  to  be  an  important  agency  of  ministerial 
influence. 

In  theory  the  duty  of  a  pastor  to  visit  "  from  house 
to  house  "  is  universally  recognized,  but  in  practice 
it  is  often  neglected  or  unsatisfactorily  discharged. 
Hence,  it  may  be  justly  inferred  that  the  subject  is 
not  free  from  difficulties.  Some  of  the  difficulties 
with  which  it  is  invested  may  be  found  in  unreason- 
able demands  on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  some  in 
the  great  labor  and  tax  of  time  involved  in  the  appro- 
priate discharge  of  the  duty,  but  still  more  in  the  lack 
of  skill  or  perseverance  on  the  part  of  many  on  whom 


466  THE  PROPER   OByECTS, 

the  duty  devolves.  It  may  not  be  possible  to  divest 
the  subject  of  all  its  difficulties,  but  it  is  certainly  de- 
sirable to  throw  upon  it  all  available  light  as  a  means 
of  enabling  young  pastors  to  form  just  views  of  the 
nature  and  importance  of  the  duty  under  considera- 
tion, and  right  habits  in  reference"  to  its  discharge. 
Pastoral  visiting,  as  a  general  ministerial  duty,  in- 
volves several  elementary  topics  which  deserve  to  be 
considered  separately  and  in  order. 
I.  The  objects  to  be  attained. 
11.  Scriptural  proofs  and  illustrations  of  the  duty. 

III.  The  best  modes  for  accomplishing  it. 

IV.  Motives  for  its  faithful  discharge. 

I.  The  proper  objects  of  pastoral  visiting.  It  is  too 
common  for  both  minister  and  people  to  take  narrow 
and  somewhat  selfish  views  of  this  subject.  The 
pleasures  of  good  society  are  mutually  attractive,  and 
the  gratifications  to  be  secured  in  merely  social  visits 
lead  the  people  to  claim  and  ministers  to  concede  to 
them  amounts  of  time  quite  incompatible  with  the 
discharge  of  sterner  obligations.  Within  just  limits 
there  is  no  occasion  for  either  party  to  deny  them- 
selves the  mutual  pleasures  of  friendly  and  frequent 
association,  A  Christianity  that  does  not  difiiise  a 
wholesome  charm  over  society  and  make  its  possess- 
ors mutually  attractive  to  each  other,  must  be  radically 
defective  at  some  point.  A  minister  of  the  gospel, 
however,  must  not  content  himself  merely  to  please 
when  it  is  possible  for  him  to  profit  those  with  whom 
he  associates.  The  act  of  pleasing  may  be  in  itself 
appropriate  and  a  natural  outflow  of  Christian  courtesy, 
but  it  only  assumes  moral  value  when  it  attains  moral 


IN  REFERENCE    TO  THE  PEOPLE.  46 1 

or  spiritual  results.  The  apostle  Paul  indicated  at 
once  the  duty  and  its  object  in  these  words  :  "  We 
then  that  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of 
the  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves.  Let  every  one 
of  us  please  his  neighbor  for  his  good  to  edification." 
Rom.  XV,  I,  2.  Christian  usefulness  may,  therefore, 
be  affirmed  to  be  the  grand  and  all-comprehensive 
object  of  pastoral  intercourse  with  every  class  of  peo- 
ple. In  this  view  even  a  small  degree  of  probable 
usefulness  would  justify  an  earnest  endeavor  to  bene- 
fit a  fellow-being ;  nevertheless,  only  the  higher  degrees 
of  moral  and  religious  necessity  make  strong  claims 
upon  a  minister's  time  and  talents.  "  They  that  are 
whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick," 
said  the  Lord  Jesus.  These  words,  so  obviously  true 
in  reference  to  the  physical  nature,  were  nevertheless 
spoken  to  illustrate  the  spiritual  wants  of  man.  But 
they  culminate  in  significance  when  the  maladies  of 
body  and  soul  are  both  combined  in  one  person,  as 
they  often  are.  Indeed,  it  was  because  this  world 
was  filled  with  the  diseases  and  the  woes  consequent 
upon  sin  that  the  manifestation  of  a  Savior  was  neces- 
sary, and  it  is  because  the  mission  of  mercy  on  which 
Christ  came  into  the  world  is  not  yet  accomplished, 
that  his  servants  are  called  to  imitate  their  divine 
Master  in  his  human  mission  of  going  about  doing 
good.  Comprehended  in  the  one  idea  of  Christian 
usefulness  are  numerous  elementary  and  subsidiary 
objects  which  must  receive  attention  in  detail  from 
faithful  pastors.  The  more  important  of  them  may  be 
indicated  under  the  following  classification: 
.     I.    With  reference  to   the  people.      Pastoral   visiting 


462  IN  REFERENCE  TO  THE  PASTOR, 

among  the  families  and  members  of  a  Church  and  con- 
gregation is  necessary  in  order  to  the  attainment  of 
the  following  results  :  i.  A  personal  acquaintance  with 
individuals  as  a  means  of  religious  access  to  them, 
without  which  a  high  degree  of  influence  is  impossible. 
2.  Opportunities  of  religious  persuasion  as  addressed 
privately  to  the  unawakened  and  unbelieving.  3.  Occa- 
sions of  counsel  to  the  inquiring,  the  penitent,  and  the 
tempted.  4.  Occasions  of  encouragement  to  the  young, 
the  weak,  and  the  halting,  in  the  divine  life.  5.  Of  edi- 
fication to  sincere  believers.  6.  Of  relief  to  the  poor 
and  the  suffering.  7.  Of  consolation  to  the  afflicted.  8. 
Of  instruction  and  spiritual  succor  to  the  sick  and  dy- 
ing. If  it  be  alleged  that  some  of  these  objects  can  be 
attained  through  pulpit  ministrations,  it  may  be  replied 
that  some  of  them  can  not,  while  of  those  which  can  it 
may  be  affirmed  that  they  can  be  more  surely  and  more 
perfectly  attained  by  the  personal  influence  of  a  pastor 
superadded  to  whatever  he  can  effect  from  the  pulpit. 
Indeed,  in  the  line  of  hopeful  effort  for  immortal  souls, 
it  is  impossible  to  do  too  much.  We  must  not  only  sow 
beside  all  waters,  but  endeavor  to  reap  by  all  means. 
But  in  addition  to  direct  usefulness  to  others,  pastoral 
visiting  properly  performed  promises  important  results. 
2.  With  reference  to  the  pastor  himself.  Some  of 
those  results  are,  essential  qualifications  for  his  work, 
difficult  if  not  impossible  to  be  otherwise  acquired, 
such  as:  i.  A  practical  knowledge  of  human  nature 
in  its  religious  and  irreligious  aspects.  2.  A  particu- 
lar knowledge  of  the  condition  and  moral  necessities 
of  his  own  people,  and  consequently,  of  the  subjects 
and  modes  of  address  by  which  he  may  do  them  the 


NECESSITY  OF  PERSONAL  INTERVIEWS.      463 

greatest  good.    3-  Sympathy  with  the  trials,  the  difficul- 
ties and  the  afflictions  of  those  to  whom  he  mmisters. 
4  The  capacity  of  testifying,  from  personal  observation 
of  the  adaptation  of  the  gospel  to  relieve  the  moral 
woes  of  mankind  and  to  inspire  the  saddest  hearts 
with  immortal  hope.     So  closely  are  these  results  con- 
nected with  the  practical  and  progressive  development 
of  ministerial  character  that  he  who  neglects  them  can 
never  reasonably  hope  to  be  worthy  of  his  h'gh  voca- 
tion as  an  under-shepherd  of  the  flock  of  God.     Theo- 
retic or  book  knowledge  of  humanity  is  little  worth  in 
comparison  with  that  which  comes  from  actual  con- 
tact with  men  in  their  homes  and  their  daily  life. 
Hence,  no  amount  of  study  in  schools  or  in  private, 
no  completeness  of  Church  organization,  and  no  ex- 
tent of  co-operation  from  the  laity,  can  excuse  a  pastor 
who  desires  to  be  thoroughly  furnished  for  his  work, 
and  to  accompUsh  it  faithfully,  from  personal  inter- 
views with  those  to  whom  he  would  offer  the  gospel 
as  the  means  of  their  present  and  eternal  salvation. 
One  grand  reason  doubtless  why  men  and  not  angels 
were  commissioned  to  preach  the  gospel  and  feed  the 
flock  of  God  was,  that  human  sympathies  might  be 
enlisted  in  behalf  of  human  guilt  and  sorrow       He 
therefore,  who  from  indolence,  from  misconception  of 
duty  or  from  any  other  cause,  fails  to  bring  himself 
•nto  free  Christian  communication  with   his  fel  ow- 
beings,  can  at  least  be  but  a  theorizer  instead  of     a 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed. 

Experiment  will  soon  prove  to  any  one  that  pri- 
vate converse  with  an  individual  is  the  best,  if  not  the 
only  effectual  means  of  comprehending  his  habits  of 


464  PATIENT  LISTENING. 

thought  and  peculiarities  of  character,  and  conse-r 
quently  of  becoming  able  to  give  him  just  the  kind 
of  instruction  or  advice  that  he  needs.  By  that  means 
it  may  be  determined  what  particular  difficulties  or 
objections  most  beset  him,  or  by  what  particular  ex- 
cuses he  may  be  accustomed  to  soothe  his  conscience, 
some  of  which,  perhaps,  could  not  have  been  conjec- 
tured. Men's  temptations  and  trials  are  often  as  dif- 
ferent as  their  countenances  or  their  circumstances  in 
life.  The  more,  therefore,  the  pastor  accustoms  him- 
self to  confer  familiarly  with  persons  representing 
different  phases  of  character,  the  more  clearly  he  will 
be  able  to  understand  the  task  before  him,  and  to 
adapt  truth  to  the  varied  necessities  of  a  congrega- 
tion. Besides,  it  is  well  for  ministers,  in  a  modest 
way,  to  ascertain,  as  nearly  as  they  can,  to  what  ex- 
tent their  teaching  on  important  points  has  been 
understood  and  practiced.  They  may  often  be  sur- 
prised to  find  that  much  of  what  has  been  listened 
to  with  apparent  attention,  has  been  but  imperfectly 
comprehended,  and  still  less  perfectly  applied  irt  prac- 
tical life.  While,  therefore,  no  one  can  hope  to  be  a 
profitable  instructor  in  matters  of  the  highest  human 
concern  who  has  not  had,  or  does  not  have,  much  in- 
tercourse with  his  fellow-men,  it  is  well  for  a  pastor 
to  remember  that  the  intercourse  he  ought  to  main- 
tain with  his  people  should  not  be  limited  to  speaking 
to  them  on  religious  subjects.  He  should  question 
them  discreetly,  and  encourage  them  to  speak  freely 
to  him.  One  part  of  his  duty  in  this  kind  of  inter- 
course is  to  listen  patiently,  not  indeed  to  detraction 
or   undue   criticism   of  others,  but   to  those  various 


CHRISTS  EXAMPLE.  465 

concerns,  especially  of  the  poor  and  afflicted,  in  which 
they  require  sympathy.  People  who  find  a  pastor 
taking  a  friendly  interest  even  in  their  temporal  wel- 
fare are  more  ready  to  speak  to  him  and  listen  to  him 
on  religious  subjects.  Thus,  both  in  private  and  in 
public,  he  may  hope  to  do  them  the  greater  good. 
Not  content  with  abstract  reasoning  on  the  subject, 
let  us  consider — 

II.  Scriptural  proofs  and  illustrations  of  the  duty 
of  pastoral  visiting. 

Writers  upon  these  subjects  seem  to  have  almost 
universally  overlooked  what  is  in  reality  the  most 
authoritative  and  instructive  of  all  proofs  of  the  duty 
under  consideration  ;  viz. : 

I.  The  example  of  Christ.  The  gospel  narratives 
prove  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  Savior's  minis- 
trations when  upon  earth  were  addressed  to  individ- 
uals, either  singly  or  in  small  groups.  To  guide  the 
reader  in  duly  impressing  his  mind  with  this  fact,  the 
following  classification  is  made  of  incidents  in  the  life 
of  Christ  which  are  at  least  analogous  to  the  work  of 
pastors,  and  by  which  the  Lord  Jesus  certainly  illus- 
trated his  own  character  as  the  good  Shepherd,  in 
reference  to  which  he  said,  "  I  know  my  sheep,  and 
am  known  of  mine." 

(i.)  Christ  called  his  disciples  individually. 

John  i,  37-52;  Matt,  ix,  9;  Mark  iii,  13. 

(2.)  Christ  held  conversations  with  individuals. 

E.g^  With   Nicodemus.     John  iii,    1-9.     The   Samaritan   woman. 
Matt,  iv,  12;  John  iv,  1-42. 
The  nobleman,  whose  son  was  sick.     John  iv,  47-50.     The 
:enturion.     Matt*  viii,  5-10. 


466  SPECIMEN  INSTANCES. 

The  widow,  whose  son  was  dead.     Luke  vii,  ii.     Ascribe. 

Matt,  viii,  19,  20. 
The  Syro-Pheniciati  woman.     Matt,  xv,  21-28;  Mark  vii,  24- 

30.     The  adulteress.     John  viii,  2-1 1. 
Parents  of  the  lunatic.     Matt,  xvii,  14-21.     A  lawyer.     Luke 

X,  25-27. 
The  rich  young  ruler.     Matt,  xix,  16-22. 

(3.)  Christ's  miracles  of  healing  were  generally 
wrought  in  connection  with  personal  interviews  with 
the  sufferers. 

Witness  the  case  of  the  leper.  Matt,  viii,  2-4.  The  pos- 
sessed and  the  sick.  Matt,  viii,  14-17.  The  blind  man. 
Matt,  viii,  22. 

The  impotent  man.  John  v,  5-9.  The  man  with  a  withered 
hand.     Matt,  xii,  9-14. 

The  multitudes  cured.  Matt,  xii,  15-21.  The  two  blind  men. 
Matt.  XX,  29-34- 

(4.)  Christ  conversed  with  various  classes  of  people. 

E.  g.y  The  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist.  Matt,  xi,  2-6.  The 
Pharisees  and  the  Herodians.  Matt,  xxii,  15-22.  The 
Sadducees.  Matt,  xxii,  23-33.  The  Pharisees.  Matt,  xii, 
2-8;  Matt,  xix,  3-9. 

(5.)  Some  of  Christ's  most  important  instructions 
were  given  to  his  disciples  in  private  conversations. 

Witness  the  transfiguration  of  the  last  passover.     Matt,  xxvi, 
»    20-35  5  Matt,  xvii,  1-13. 

Also  many  other  occasions.  Matt,  iv,  19-22  ;  v,  13  ;  vi,  9-15 ; 
vii,  7-1 1 ;  xviii,  1-35. 

(6.)  Christ  visited  the  people  at  their  own  houses. 

Instances  :  The  wedding  feast  of  Cana.     John  ii,  i,  2. 

The  house  of  Simon  Peter.     Matt,  viii,  14;    Luke  iv,  38-41. 

The  house  of  Levi  the  publican.     Luke  v,  29. 

The  house  of  Zaccheus.     Luke  xix,  29. 

The  houses  of  Pharisees.     Luke  vii,  36-50  ;  Luke  xiv,  1-24. 

The  house  of  Mary  and  Martha.     Luke  x,  38-42 ;   also,  John 

xi,  1-16. 
The  house  of  Simon  the  leper.     Matt  xxvi,  6. 


APOSTOLIC  PRACTICE.  467 

It  seems  just  to  infer  that  while  these  numerous 
incidents  were  embalmed  in  the  sacred  record,  many 
more  of  a  similar  character  occurred  that  answered 
important  ends,  although  they  may  have  been  le^s 
adapted  to  the  instruction  of  mankind.  A  review  of 
Christ's  ministry  as  portrayed  in  the  history  of  the 
four  evangelists,  shows  that  it  was  harmoniously  pro- 
portioned between  public  and  private  teaching,  be- 
tween addresses  to  multitudes  and  conversations  with 
individuals. 

In  the  latter  respect  it  fully  illustrated  the  course 
enjoined  upon  his  disciples,  who  in  connection  with 
the  command  "go,  preach,  saying  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand,"  were  also  further  instructed  in 
these  words,  "  When  ye  come  into  a  house,  salute  it, 
and  if  the  house  be  worthy,  let  your  peace  come  upon 
it ;  but  if  it  be  not  worthy,  let  your  peace  return  unto 
you  ;  and  whosoever  shall  not  hear  your  words,  when 
ye  depart  out  of  that  house  or  city,  shake  off  the  dust 
of  your  feet."  Matt,  x,  6.  The  obvious  lesson  of  this 
command  to  the  disciples  is  that  ministers  are  not  to 
content  themselves  with  public  addresses,  but  are  to 
seek  out  the  people  in  their  homes  as  a  resort  of 
greater  promise  with  reference  to  their  words  being 
heard  and  heeded. 

2.  The  practice  of  the  apostles.  The  whole  company 
of  the  disciples  following  the  scenes  of  the  Pentecost 
seem  to  have  comprehended  the  will  of  their  ascended 
Lord  in  reference  to  Christian  visiting  and  to  have 
illustrated  it  to  the  extent  of  their  ability.  The  fol- 
lowing record,  referring  to  Peter  and  the  other  apos- 
tles is  believed  to  be  descriptive  of  their  whole  course 


468  PROPHETIC  REPROOFS. 

of  proceedings.  "Daily  in  the  temple,  and  in  every 
house  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus 
Christ."  Acts  v,  42.  Paul,  on  entering  the  apostolate, 
learned  the  same  lesson  and  practiced  it  with  equal 
zeal.  Witness  his  statement  to  the  Ephesian  elders, 
"  You  know  from  the  first  day  that  I  came  into  Asia, 
after  what  manner  I  have  been  with  you  at  all  seasons 
.  .  .  and  have  taught  you  publicly  and  from  house 
to  house."  "  Therefore,  watch  and  remember  that  by 
the  space  of  three  years  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every 
one,  night  and  day,  with  tears."     Acts  xx,  18,  20,  31. 

The  apostle  Paul  unquestionably  intended  to  teach 
the  same  duty  of  private  pastoral  labor  when  in  his 
solemn  charge  to  Timothy  he  adds  to  the  primary 
injunction,  "preach  the  word,"  "be  instant  in  season, 
out  of  season  ;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long- 
suffering  and  doctrine."     2  Tim.  iv,  2. 

3.  The  indirect  teaching  of  the  Scriptures.  While 
various  quotations  might  be  adduced  for  the  indirect 
illustration  of  the  subject  under  consideration,  it  may 
be  sufficient  to  indicate  the  instances  of  God's  re- 
proofs of  the  unfaithful  shepherds  of  Israel,  recorded 
in  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel. 

The  prophetic  figure  of  shepherds  seeking  the  sheep 
that  are  lost  by  wandering  or  being  driven  away,  and 
also  of  healing  the  sick  and  binding  up  the  broken, 
strikingly  sets  forth  the  pastor's  duty  toward  wan- 
derers from  the  fold  and  those  who  are  spiritually 
diseased  or  broken,  while  the  woes  with  which  God 
avenges  his  neglected  flock  are  fearfully  admonitory. 

III.  The  best  modes  of  accomplishing  the  work  and 
objects  of  pastoral  visitation. 


ELEMENTS  OF  SUCCESS.  469 

I.  Preparation.  Beyond  doubt  the  first  element  of 
success  in  this  branch  of  ministerial  duty,  consists  in 
a  suitable  preparation  on  the  part  of  a  pastor  himself 
No  one  will  accomplish  much  good  in  pastoral  visit- 
ing who  considers  it  a  drudgery,  or  cherishes  an  idea 
that  it  is  a  task  beneath  his  dignity.  The  first 
branch  of  needed  preparation,  therefore,  is  intellect- 
ual, by  which  the  pastor's  mind  becomes  impressed 
with  the  true  nature  and  essential  dignity  of  the  work 
as  set  forth  above,  while  in  the  second  place  his  heart- 
should  become  correspondingly  imbued  with  anxious 
desires  for  its  faithful  accomplishment  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  redound  to  the  divine  glory. 

If  a  pastor  goes  forth  in  a  careless  or  indifferent 
frame  of  mind,  chiefly  intent  on  recreation,  what  won- 
der if  he  accomplishes  no  spiritual  result !  On  the 
other  hand,  if  he  goes  with  a  heart  intent  on  doing  the 
Master's  will,  and  with  a  predominant  desire  to  win 
souls,  it  will  be  wonderful  indeed  if  he  wholly  fails. 

Meditation  and  prayer  are  also  important  elements 
of  the  required  preparation.  The  motto  "  Go  from 
your  knees  to  the  pulpit,"  supposed  to  be  familiar  to 
ministers  who  aim  to  preach  not  themselves,  but 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  is  equally  applicable  to  this 
duty.  The  pastor  who  goes  from  his  closet  to  the 
houses  and  workshops  of  his  people  will  carry  with 
him  a  holy  atmosphere,  and  exert  a  saving  influence 
upon  those  to  whom  he  may  speak. 

It  is  moreover  to  be  expected  that,  in  this  as  in  other 
departments  of  usefulness,  practice  will  conduce  to  im- 
prwement.  Hence  the  pastor  should  hope  by  means 
of  continued  eflbrt,  observation,  and  reflection  to  con- 


470  APPOINTMENTS   WITH  FAMILIES. 

tinually  increase  his  capacity  for  winning  and  impress- 
ive Christian  conversation. 

2.  Systematic  attention  to  the  duty.  Occasional  or 
fitful  efforts  may  accomplish  something,  but  compre- 
hensively planned  measures  perseveringly  sustained 
are  necessary  to  any  great  success.  A  proper  system 
of  pastoral  visiting  involves  points  already  suggested 
in  other  connections,  such  as : 

(i.)  A  due  allotment  of  time. 

(2.)  A  proper  districting  of  the  field. 

To  these  may  be  added,  in  some  cases: 

(3.)  Special  appointments  with  certain  families. 

By  this  arrangement  time  is  saved  to  both  parties 
and  the  convenience  of  all  greatly  promoted.  A  pas- 
tor often  loses  an  afternoon  by  not  finding  at  home  the 
families  he  had  expected  to  visit,  a  circumstance  which 
the  families  may  regret  as  much  as  he.  A  pastor  of 
wisdom  and  experience  said : 

"  When  I  was  pastor  of  the  Church  in  F.,  and  also  in  P.,  I 
often  announced  from  the  desk  on  the  Sabbath  that  I  should 
visit  such  and  such  families  on  Tuesday,  and  others  on  Wednes- 
day, on  Thursday,  and  so  on  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  ;  and  I 
found  it  preferable  to  any  other  method  I  could  adopt.  Gener- 
ally they  would  make  their  arrangements  to  be  at  home  ;  whereas 
when  I  called  without  giving  notice,  some  members  of  almost 
every  family  would  be  absent,  and,  of  course,  lose  the  visit. 
Were  I  to  return  to  the  pastoral  care,  I  think  I  should  make 
my  appointments  publicly,  and  for  another  reason  besides  the 
one  just  offered.  If  you  were  to  spend  half  your  time  in  going 
from  house  to  house,  without  saying  any  thing  about  it,  it  would 
take  yo  1  so  long  to  visit  all  that  many  would  think  you  very  re- 
miss in  this  branch  of  pastoral  duty.  But  when,  from  week  to 
week,  you  publicly  set  apart  several  days,  or  half  days,  for  visit- 
ing, and  name  the  families  to  be  called  on,  it  teaches  those 
who  are  most  apt  to  complain  of  neglect  two  things :  That  you 


DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  CALLS  AND  VISITS.  47 1 

do  spend  a  great  deal  more  time  than  they  had  supposed,  and 
that  it  takes  much  longer  to  get  round."  * 

It  may  be  added  that  it  is  easier  to  make  a  pas- 
toral visit  what  it  ought  to  be  when  such  a  visit  is 
expected  than  when  an  unexpected  call  finds  no  one 
prepared  to  receive  it,  and,  perhaps,  many  greatly 
mortified  at  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
found.  Hence,  due  distinction  should  be  made  be- 
tween pastoral  visits  and  mere  calls,  which  ought,  by 
no  means,  to  be  omitted.  Sometimes,  the  latter  are 
all  that  a  minister's  time  will  allow,  and  sometimes 
all  that  the  circumstances  will  admit.  Nevertheless, 
a  brief  call  may  prepare  the  way  for  a  visit,  and  if 
used  to  the  best  advantage  may  not  seldom  accom- 
plish important  results  in  itself  Still,  no  pastor 
should  be  content  without  securing,"  from  time  to 
time,  opportunities  for  thorough  religious  conversa- 
tion with  the  various  members  of  his  Church  and 
congregation,  whether  parents,  children,  or  servants, 
young  or  old,  rich  or  poor.  Such  conversation,  is 
usually  most  profitable  when  individuals  can  be 
isolated,  rather  than  spoken  to  in  each  other's  pres- 
ence. A  proper  pastoral  visit  should  be  closed  with 
prayer  suited  to  the  conditions  of  the  several  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  and  any  other  persons  present. 
Even  in  making  calls  prayer  will  often  be  appropriate, 
but  so  solemn  an  exercise  should  not  be  conducted 
with  undue  haste  or  in  a  bustling,  business-like  man- 
ner. Pastors  should  guard  against  the  temptation  of 
compromising  between  calls  and  visits,  or  of  making 
the  former  answer  instead  of  the  latter,  and  yet  they 

*  Dr.  Humphrey's  Letters  to  a  Son  in  the  Ministry. 


472  CLAIMS  OP  THE  SICK, 

should  never  yield  to  the  importunity  of  unthinking 
people  who  claim  large  portions  of  their  time  as 
essential  to  satisfactory  visits.  It  is  sinful  to  waste 
time  even  in  a  good  work,  and  pertinent  explanations 
will  readily  convince  well-intentioned  persons  of  th€ 
propriety  of  ministers  spending  "  no  more  time  in 
any  place  than  is  strictly  necessary."  While  the 
above  is  a  fitting  motto  for  all  pastors,  it  should  not 
be  construed  so  as  to  countenance  the  petty  ambition 
of  making,  and  possibly  reporting,  a  great  number  of 
pastoral  calls  or  visits  in  a  given  time.  So  important 
a  work  deserves  to  be  well  and  conscientiously  done 
whatever  form  of  doing  it  may  be  dictated  by  circum- 
stances. At  this  point,  a  pastor  should  cultivate  a 
keen  sense  of  propriety,  and  not  only  acquire  the  art 
of  adapting  the  length  and  form  of  his  visits  to  cir- 
cumstances, but  also  of  making  the  most  unlooked-for 
circumstances  contribute,  in  some  way,  to  the  objects 
he  has  in  view. 

(4.)  Special  attentions  to  the  sick,  the  afflicted,  and 
the  ne^dy. 

Christianity  fully  recognizes  the  connection  subsist- 
ing between  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  For  the 
latter,  therefore,  it  has  blessings,  reliefs,  and  consola- 
tions. It  even  rises  to  the  design  of  making  bodily 
suffering  tributary  to  the  spiritual  profit  of  the  suf- 
ferer. This  was  indicated  not  only  in  the  multiplied 
examples  in  which  our  Savior  mingled  healing  with 
religious  teaching,  but  also  in  his  precepts  to  his  dis- 
ciples, upon  whom,  from  the  first,  he  enjoined  atten- 
tion to  the  sick.*  In  one  of  his  most  impressiyp 
*Vide  Matt,  x,  8;  Luke  ix,  2;  x,  9. 


THE  PRECEPT  OF  JAMES.  \  473 

discourses,  his  portraiture  of  the  final  judgment,*  our 
blessed  Lord  seems  actually  to  assume  the  sicknesses 
and  sorrows  of  humanity  as  his  own,  and  to  encour- 
age his  followers  who  visit  the  sick  as  doing  acts  of 
kindness  which,  at  the  last  day,  he  will  accredit  as 
done  to  himself  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 
the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto 
me."  So  long  as  miraculous  endowments  were  re- 
tained in  the  Church  the  healing  of  the  sick  was  the 
favorite  mode  of  their  exercise.  When  miracles  had 
ceased,  or  were  about  to  cease,  the  pastoral  duty  of 
visiting  and  praying  for  the  sick  was  elevated  into 
special  prominence  by  an  apostolic  command  which 
enjoined  upon  the  people  the  duty  of  sending  for 
their  ministers,  and  upon  the  elders  the  duty  of  pray- 
ing and  administering  for  the  healing  of  their  bodies, 
but  with  a  chief  reference  to  the  forgiveness  of  their 
sins.f  The  glaring  perversion  of  the  passage  last 
referred  to  by  which  Romanists  strive  to  make  it 
countenance  the  pretended  sacrament  of  extreme 
unction,  has  caused  its  language  to  be  less  regarded 
than  it  ought  to  be,  and  its  real  significance  to  be 
overlooked  by  many.  A  true  interpretation  enables 
us  to  understand  that  the  anointing  with  oil,  so  far 
from  being  a  ceremony  designed  to  benefit  the  soul 
of  the  dying,  was  a  sanitary  measure  common  in 
Palestine  for  the  relief  and  restoration  of  the  body, 
and,  consequently,  representative  of  .  physical  treat- 
ment generally.  The  fact  that  this  anointing  was 
to  be  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  so  far  from  being 
talismanic  or  of  the  nature  of  a  charm,  it  was  simply 

*Matt.  XXV,  31-46.  t  James  v,  14,15. 

40 


474  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICE. 

to  be  put  on  the  level  of  other  Christian  duties,  in 
accordance  with  the  precept  of  Paul,  "whatsoever  ye 
do  in  word  or  deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus."  Col.  iii,  17.  In  the  command  of  James, 
therefore,  we  have  the  two  elements  of,  first,  physical 
treatment,  and,  second,  the  prayer  of  faith  prescribed 
in  behalf  of  the  sick,  both  distinct  from  miraculous 
interposition — on  which  Christians  might  have  been 
too  prone  to  rely — and  both  designed  to  remain  in  the 
Church  with  a  special  bearing  upon  the  spiritual  in- 
terests of  those  in  danger  of  death,  namely,  the  for- 
giveness of  their  sins. 

Recognizing,  therefore,  the  special  sympathy  to 
which  the  sick  and  afflicted  are  entitled,  the  pastor, 
in  addition  to  his  general  list  of  members  and  families 
that  ought  to  be  visited  in  turn,  should  keep  another 
list  of  those  requiring  special  and  frequent  attention 
by  reason  of  sickness  or  calamity.  Persons  in  health 
will  not  object  to  delays  in  visits  due  them  if  caused 
by  occupation  with  the  sick  or  suffering,  for  whom  it 
is  often  "  now  or  never,"  that  the  pastor  must  act. 
In  a  merely  religious  point  of  view,  the  treatment  of 
the  sick  ^oes  not  differ  materially  from  that  of  the 
well.  Whatever  is  different  consists,  chiefly,  in  adapt- 
ation to  the  changed  circumstances.  Whoever  would 
lead  dying  men  to  the  Savior,  and  aid  them  to  pre- 
pare, effectually,  for  a  change  of  worlds,  whether  he 
finds  them  in  health  or  sickness,  should  possess  and 
cultivate  the  following  traits  of  character : 

I.  Clear  discernment  in  determining  the  character 
and  moral  states  of  those  with  whom  he  may  visit 
on  sick-beds. 


BREVITY^FAITHFULNESS.  475 

2.  The  power  of  eliciting  frank  expressions  of  their 
feelings,  fears,  and  hopes. 

3.  A  tenderness  and  persuasiveness  of  manner 
which  will  inspire  confidence  and  attachment. 

4.  A  capacity  to  remove  from  their  minds  any  de- 
lusions they  may  be  cherishing,  and  to  portray,  in 
brief,  but  clear  and  impressive  utterances,  the  essen- 
tial truths  they  need  to  understand  and  feel. 

5.  A  felicitous  manner  of  presenting  encourage- 
ments to  the  tempted,  hope  to  the  despairing,  and 
consolation  to  the  desponding.  Pain,  grief,  and  appre- 
hension assume  manifold  aspects.  Their  primary  in- 
fluence usually  is  to  soften  the  heart  and  alarm  the 
fears  of  the  sufferer.  But  they  often  become  so  ab- 
sorbing and  controlling,  as  to  render  it  difficult  to 
govern  thought  and  contemplate  fixedly  the  great 
object  of  the  sinner's  hope.  Hence,  prompt  and  fre- 
quent attention  to  the  sick,  on  the  part  of  pastors, 
is  better  than  protracted  calls.  For  many  reasons, 
brevity  should  be  the  rule  of  visits  to  the  sick, 
unless  in  very  peculiar  circumstances.  In  all  circum- 
stances, quick  observation  and  thoughtful  considera- 
tion of  the  condition  of  patients  and  the  families  in 
which  they  are  found  need  to  be  exercised. 

Pastors  may  count  themselves  happy  when  their 
efforts  are  aided,  and  not  thwarted,  by  the  friends, 
attendants,  and  even  physicians  of  the  sick.  While 
among  the  former  there  is  often  an  entire  lack  of 
sympathy  with  the  pastor's  objects,  the  latter  fre- 
quently carry  professional  jealousy  or  personal  oppo- 
sition to  an  embarrassing  extreme.  Regarding  all 
ideas  of  death,  or  even  of  danger,  unfriendly  to  a 


476  FAITHFULNESS. 


patient's  recovery,  they  sometimes  interdict  inter- 
views which  they  think  will  have  any  tendency  to 
excite  alarm.  Owing  to  the  false  hopes  encouraged 
by  their  physicians,  how  many  poor  souls  have  been 
overtaken  by  death  before  they  were  allowed  to  know 
they  were  in  serious  danger !  While  it  would  be  un- 
wise, and  even  wrong,  for  ministers  to  excite  undue 
alarms  in  the  mind  of  a  patient,  they  certainly  must 
be  faithful ;  and  as  the  interests  they  represent  are  of 
greater  importance  than  even  the  life  of  the  body, 
they  are  entitled,  in  a  wise  and  considerate  man- 
ner, to  claim  their  proper  rights  and  position  by  the 
bedside  of  their  afflicted  members.  When  sent  for 
by  others  they  can  be  equally  faithful,  according  to 
the  opportunities  afforded  them,  although  less  free 
to  claim  the  prerogatives  of  a  recognized  pastor. 
Whatever  obstacles  or  oppositions  may  arise  will  usu- 
ally yield  to  discreet  and  earnest  Christian  address 
where  there  is  obviously  a  single  motive  to  benefit 
the  sufferer.  In  such  cases  all  apprehensions  of  in- 
jury to  patients  from  pastoral  visits  will  usually  be 
dispelled,  as  it  will  be  found  that  nothing  is  more 
conducive  to  the  restoration  of  health  than  that  con- 
sciousness of  the  divine  favor  and  of  a  preparation  to 
die  which  it  is  the  object  of  a  Christian  minister  to 
secure.  But,  where  even  discreet  and  earnest  efforts 
fail  to  accomplish  the  desired  object  in  behalf  of  the 
sick  and  the  suffering,  he  who  puts  them  forth  will 
have  the  satisfaction  of  having  discharged  his  respon- 
sibility in  the  attempt  to  fulfill  his  sacred  mission. 

But,  while  ministers  should  endeavor  to  discharge 
their  whole  personal  duty  in  the  matter  of  visiting 


WESLEY'S  PRECEPTS  AND  EXAMPLES,        477 

the  sick,  they  should  not  think  of  monopolizing  that 
duty  so  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  for  their  lay  help- 
ers to  participate  in  it.  On  the  contrary,  they  should 
enlist  the  active  co-operation  of  their  people  by  taking 
different  persons  in  their  company  from  time  to  time, 
and  also  by  imitating  the  example  of  Mr.  Wesley* 
in  preaching  upon  the  subject,  and  endeavoring  to 
awaken  in  all  a  desire  to  do  good  unto  all  men  as 
they  have  opportunity. 

Often  in  a  pastor  s  visits  to  the  sick  and  the  poor 
he  will  become  acquainted  with  circum-  ^,^^^^^^y 
stances  of  suffering  which  imperatively 
demand  relief  While  every  pastor  oug^t  to  be  char- 
itable, and  to  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  give  to  the 
poor  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  yet  no  one  can  be 
expected  to  be  able  personally  to  relieve  all  the  phys- 
ical necessities  of  a  congregation  or  a  community. 
But,  even  if  he  could,  it  would  be  wrong  for  him 
to  monopolize  a  duty  which  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church  has  devolved  upon  all  its  members  in  their 
proper  measure.  It  is  essentially  important,  there- 
fore, that  every  pastor  should  co-operate  with  his 
congregation  in  raising  funds  for  this  object,  and  that 

*See  Wesley's  Sermon  CIII,  on  visiting  the  sick,  Works,  Vol.  II,  p. 
329.  The  sermon,  besides  explaining  and  enforcing  the  duty,  contams 
an  excellent  manual  of  directions  for  its  discharge.  Mr.  Wesley,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-one,  was  personally  active  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
he  enjoined  upon  others.  In  January,  1774,  after  having  been  detamed 
some  days  in  London  by  a  surgical  operation,  he  made  this  record  in 
his  journal : 

''Tties.  12.— I  began  at  the  east  end  of  the  town  to  visit  the  society 
from  house  to  house.  I  know  no  branch  of  the  pastoral  office  which 
is  of  greater  importance  than  this.  But  it  is  so  grievous  to  flesh  and 
blood  that  I  can  prevail  on  few  even  of  our  preachers  to  undertake  it." 


478  PERSONAL  DEFICIENCIES. 

he  have  arrangements  with  the  proper  officers  of  his 
Church  by  which  he  can  draw  at  discretion  upon  the 
funds  provided  or  secure  their  immediate  co-operation 
in  affording  the  needed  assistance.  In  cities,  and,  in- 
deed, wherever  necessity  requires,  thorough  and  sys- 
tematic arrangements  should  be  made  for  relieving 
the  wants  of  the  afflicted. 

Important  as  these  duties  are  conceded  to  be,  some 
ministers  are  greatly  embarrassed  and  sometimes  hin- 
dered in  their  discharge  by  feelings  of  diffidence. 
Diffidence  in  a  young  man,  so  far  from  being  a  misfor- 
tune, may  actually  add  a  charm  to  his  manner  which 
the  naturally  forward  can  never  acquire.  Hence, 
whatever  embarrassments  arise  from  that  cause  may 
therefore  be  expected  to  yield  to  determination  and 
practice.  If,  moreover,  a  feeling  of  natural  diffidence 
leads  the  young  pastor  to  study  carefully  the  best 
modes  of  interesting  people  of  various  classes  and 
characters  in  sacred  things,  and  also  to  form  habits 
of  system  and  persevering  effort,  he  will  be  far  more 
likely  to  succeed  than  one  who  enters  upon  the  work 
with  too  much  self-confidence  and  too  little  apprecia- 
tion of  its  real  difficulties.  To  be  able  to  offer  the 
gospel  effectively  to  individuals  and  families  art  their 
own  homes  and  places  of  resort,  is  a  great  and  happy 
art,  and  one  not  to  be  acquired  without  both  consid- 
eration and  effort.  Mere  talkativeness,  so  far  from 
answering  the  desired  end,  sometimes  defeats  it.  A 
pastor  who  wishes  to  be  heard  himself  must  be  capable 
of  listening  patiently  to  others,  as  well  as  of  educing 
expression  from  those  to  whom  he  would  speak.  Dis- 
crimination in  religious  address  is  essential  to  moral 


EXTERNAL   OBSTACLES.  479 

influence,  and  the  power  of  leading  others  out  in  frank 
and  honest  utterances  is  essential  to  its  successful 
exercise. 

The  external  difficulties  which  embarrass  pastoral 
visiting  differ  greatly  with  circumstances.  In  some 
places  the  population  is  greatly  scattered.  In  other 
places  great  numbers  of  persons  are  inaccessible  at 
convenient  hours  on  account  of  their  occupations ; 
while  not  seldom,  prevailing  immorality  and  indiffer- 
ence to  religion  is  worst  of  all.  But  as  it  is  the  busi- 
ness of  a  pastor  to  overcome  moral  obstacles  of  every 
kind,  their  existence  in  any  unusual  form  should  only 
nerve  him  to  greater  effort,  and  inspire  in  him  a  more 
confiding  trust  in  God  for  needed  help. 

IV.  Motives  for  faithfulness  in  pastoral  visiting. 

1.  It  is  essential  to  full  proof  of  the  power  and  in- 
fluence of  the  Christian  ministry. 

2.  Faithfulness  in  pastoral  visiting  tends  to  increase 
a  minister's  congregations.  "  A  house-going  minister 
makes  a  church-going  people." 

3.  Pastoral  visiting  enlarges  a  pastor's  personal  in- 
fluence, and  creates  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  him 
^nd  the  community  to  which  he  ministers. 

4.  It  is  the  essential  complement  of  faithful  preach- 
ing. To  accomplish  an  apostolic  ministry,  we  must 
teach  "publicly  and  from  house  to  house." 

5.  Pastoral  visiting  properly  performed  conduces  to 
the  promotion,  the  continuance,  and  the  success  of 
revivals  of  religion. 

To  do  the  work  of  pastoral  visiting  as  described  iri 
this  chapter,  requires  labor  indeed,  but  it  is  a  labor  of 
love,  and  one  that  brings  the  Christian  minister  more 


480  MOTIVES  FOR  FAITHFULNESS. 

closely  into  sympathy  with  his  divine  Master  than 
any  other.  Say  not  that  it  will  exhaust  his  time  and 
strength,  so  as  to  unfit  him  for  preaching  eloquently. 
As  heretofore  suggested,  it  is  one  of  the  best  methods 
of  preparation  for  preaching — that  which  touching  the 
preacher's  own  heart  enables  him  to  touch  the  hearts 
of  others.  Besides,  it  is  by  such,  and  only  by  such, 
faithful  diligence  that  a  pastor  may  attain  the  highest 
phase  of  ministerial  influence,  that  in  which  he  will  be 
recognized  as  the  spiritual  father  of  his  people. 


CLERICAL  DEGRADATION,  4^1 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   PASTOR   IN   SOCIETY. 

IT  is  of  design  that  the  present  subject  is  treated 
distinctly  from  that  of  the  preceding  chapter. 
While  visiting  from  house  to  house  with  definite  re- 
ligious objects  in  view  is  a  primary  and  continual 
duty  of  a  Christian  pastor,  it  is  not  his  only  duty.  He 
should  recognize  himself  and  be  recognized  by  others 
as  a  member  of  society.  In  this  relation  society  has 
claims  upon  him.  By  discharging  those  claims  in  a 
proper  manner  he  may  not  only  win  respect  but  influ- 
ence, and  thus  contribute  directly  to  the  highest  objects 
of  his  ministry. 

In  Macaulay's  History  of  England  the  reader  may 
find  a  painful  exhibit  of  the  extreme  degradation  to 
which  the  country  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England 
were  reduced  only  about  two  centuries  ago.  The 
graphic  sketches  of  the  historian*  show  clearly  the 
contempt  into  which  religion  was  brought  through  the 

*  "The  clergy  were  regarded  as,  on  the  whole,  a  plebeian  class  ;  and 
indeed,  for  one  who  made  the  figure  of  a  gentleman,  ten  were  mere 
menial  servants."  The  coarse  and  ignorant  squire,  who  thought  it  be- 
longed to  his  dignity  to  have  grace  said  every  day  at  his  table  by  an 
ecclesiastic  in  full  canonicals,  found  means  to  reconcile  dignity  with 
economy.  A  young  Levite— such  was  the  phrase  then  in  use— might 
be  had  for  his  board,  a  small  garret,  and  ten  pounds  a  year,  and  might 
not  only  perform  his  own  professional  functions,  might  not  only  be  the 
most  patient  of  butts  and  of  listeners,  might  not  only  be  always  ready  in 

41 


482  MEN  OF  LEARNING  AND  TALENT, 

ignorance  and  social  ostracism  of  those  who  even  nom- 
inally bore  the  sacred  office.  They  also  show  how 
imperfectly  the  Reformation  had  done  its  work  in 
England  a  century  and  a  half  subsequent  to  the  days 
of  Luther;  nevertheless,  by  the  contrast  they  draw 
to  the  present  position  of  the  Protestant  clergy  in  En- 
gland and  America,  they  strikingly  illustrate  what  has 
since  been  accomplished  by  an  increase  of  knowledge 
and  piety  in  elevating  ministers  as  a  class  to  a  position 
from  which  they  can  exert  a  proper  influence. 

Indeed,  at  the  very  period  to  which  reference  is 
made,  examples  were  not  wanting  of  clergymen  who 
overcame  the  disabilities  to  which  the  majority  of  their 
brethren  were  subject.     Macaulay  himself  says : 

"  Assuredly  there  was  at  that  time  no  lack  in  the  English 
Church  of  ministers  distinguished  by  abilities  and  learning.  But 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  these  ministers  were  not  scattered 
among  the  rural  population.  They  were  brought  together  at  a 
few  places  where  the  means  of  acquiring  knowledge  were 
abundant,  and  where  the  opportunities  of  vigorous  intellectual 
exercise  were  frequent.  These  eminent  men  were  to  be  found 
with  scarce  a  single  exception,  at  the  universities,  at  the  great 
cathedrals,  or  in  the  capital." 

Without  pausing  to  discuss  the  agencies  by  which 
the  character  and  influence  of  the  country  clergy  of 

fine  weather  for  bowls,  and  in  rainy  weather  for  shovel-board,  but 
also  save  the  expense  of  a  gardener  or  of  a  groom.  Sometimes  the  rever- 
end man  nailed  up  the  apricots,  and  sometimes  he 'curried  the  coach- 
horses.  He  cast  up  the  farrier's  bills.  He  walked  ten  miles  with  a 
message  or  a  parcel.  If  he  was  permitted  to  dine  with  the  family,  he 
was  expected  to  content  himself  with  the  plainest  fare.  He  might  fill 
himself  with  the  corned  beef  and  carrots ;  but,  as  soon  as  the  tarts 
and  cheese-cakes  made  their  appearance,  he  quitted  his  seat,  and  stood 
aloof  till  he  was  summoned  to  return  thanks  for  the  repast,  from  a 
great  part  of  which  he  had  been  excluded.  See  Macaulay's  History 
of  England,  Vol.  I,  p.  304. 


THE  CLERGY  OF  AMERICA,  483 

England  became  improved,Ut  may  be  remarked  that 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  more  than  in  any 
other  country,  a  fair  opportunity  has  been  afforded  to 
ministers  of  the  gospel  to  win  and  occupy  their  proper 
position  in  society.  That  they  have  done  this  to  a 
creditable  extent,  was  forcibly  and  eloquently  shown 
by  Daniel  Webster  in  his  argument  of  the  Girard  Will 
Case  befoj-e  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  1844.,.  1  The  following  is  a  brief  extract  of  that  cel- 
ebrated plea : 

"  I  take  it  upon  myself  to  say  that  in  no  country  in  the  world, 
upon  either  continent,  can  there  be  found  a  body  of  ministers  of 
the  gospel  who  perform  so  much  service  to  man,  in  such  a  full 
spirit  of  self-denial,  under  so  little  encouragement  from  govern- 
ment of  any  kind,  and  under  circumstances  almost  always  much 
straitened  and  distressed,  as  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the 
United  States,  of  all  denominations.  They  form  no  part  of  any 
established  order  of  religion,  they  constitute  no  hierarchy,  they 

enjoy  no  peculiar  privileges They  have  to  depend 

entirely  on  the  voluntary  contributions  of  those  that  hear  them. 
And  this  body  of  clergymen  has  shown,  to  the  honor  of  their 
own  country  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the  hierarchies  of  the 
old  world,  that  it  is  practicable  in  free  governments  to  raise  and 
sustain  by  voluntary  contributions  alone,  a  body  of  clergymen 
which  for  their  devotedness  to  their  sacred  calling,  for  purity  of 
life  and  character,  for  learning,  intelligence,  piety,  and  that  wis- 
dom which  Cometh  from  above,  is  \xvi&xxQV-  to  none,  and  supe- 
rior to  most  others 1  I  contend  that  no  literary 

efforts,  no  adjudications,  no  constitutional  discussions,  nothing 
that  has  been  said  or  done  in  favor  of  the  great  interests  of 
universal  man,  has  done  this  country  more  credit  at  home  and 
abroad  than  the  establishment  of  our  body  of  clergymen,  their 
support  by  voluntary  contributions,  and  the  general  excellence 
of  their  character  for  piety  and  learning."    [ 

This  unsolicited  tribute  to  the  intelligence  and  worth 
of  the  American  clergy  indicates  that  even  worldly 


484  SOCIETY— DIFFERENT  PHASES. 

men  are  not  slow  to  recognize  the  real  benefactors  of 
society.  The  American  statesman,  not  less  than  the 
English  historian,  regards  learning  and  piety  in  min- 
isters as  qualities  which,  independent  of  wealth  or  pre- 
ferment, are  sure  to  win  for  them  the  respect  and 
even  honor  of  their  fellow-men.  Let  it  therefore  be 
accepted  as  an  established  principle  that  upon  minis- 
ters themselves  depends  very  much,  if  not  wholly,  the 
position  they  are  to  occupy,  and  the  influence  they 
are  to  exert  in  society.  The  term  society  is  here  used 
in  its  broadest  and  best  sense,  as  including  that  com- 
munity of  people  who  reside  in  any  given  place  or 
region,  and  apart  from  those  factitious  distinctions  by 
which  any  smaller  number  of  persons  may  arrogate 
to  themselves  the  pretense  of  being  society  par  ex- 
cellence, on  the  ground  of  their  seeking  to  lead,  or 
consenting  to  be  led,  in  the  routine  of  fashionable  en- 
tertainments. There  will,  indeed,  always  be  more  or 
less  of  subdivision  and  class  association  in  any  large 
community.  Hence  the  distinctions  of  fashionable 
society,  literary  society,  and  religious  society,  which 
are  usually  recognized,  and  to  which  a  minister  can 
not  be  indifferent.  It  is  obvious  that  a  Christian  pas- 
tor should  neither  seek  nor  accept  that  society  which 
assembles  for  purposes  of  gayety,  frivolity,  or  amuse- 
ment, however  he  may  seek  to  benefit  the  individuals 
who  may  frequent  such  society.  He  should,  how- 
ever, be  at  home,  desired  and  honored,  in  the  society 
of  the  intelligent,  thoughtful,  and  moral;  in  short,  in 
every  form  of  strictly  good  society.  By  mingling  occa- 
sionally in  appropriate  social  assemblies  a  pastor  may, 
without  loss  of  time,  secure  the  necessary  relaxation 


POSITION  OF  A   CLERGYMAN.  485 

from  the  confinement  of  study,  and  the  toil  of  visiting 
the  afflicted.  Nevertheless,  even  the  best  and  most 
agreeable  society  should  not  be  indulged  in  exclu- 
sively for  the  exhilaration  and  enjoyment  it  may  afford, 
but  as  furnishing  opportunities  of  doing  good. 

In  every  species  of  association  with  his  fellow-men 
it  is  the  place  of  a  Christian  pastor  to  be  an  intelli- 
gent leader  of  conversation.  Some  men,  by  their  hab- 
its of  taciturnity  or  reserve,  make  their  presence  in 
any  company  a  burden.  Others,  by  their  garrulity, 
become  even  a  greater  burden.  Between  all  such  ex- 
tremes there  is  a  golden  mean  for  the  pastor.  He, 
knowing  when  to  speak  and  when  to  listen,  should 
seize  suitable  opportunities  for  introducing  appropri- 
ate and  interesting  topics  for  remark  or  discussion, 
and  thus  promote  the  gratification  or  instruction  of 
all  participating.  When  conversation  on  any  theme 
lags  or  becomes  unprofitable,  he  should  be  adroit  to 
change  it  to  other  subjects,  by  which  a  suitable  va- 
riety and  a  lively  interest  may  be  maintained. 

The  presence  of  a  Christian  minister  in  any  social 
circle  should  not  be  without  a  wholesome  effect  upon 
all  the  proprieties  of  the  occasion.  While  it  should 
not  restrain,  but  rather  promote  cheerfulness,  it  should 
prevent  undue  levity  and  whatever  might  tend  to  waste 
time,  enfeeble  thought,  corrupt  the  imagination,  or  con- 
taminate morals.  yWhile  no  family  entitled  to  respect 
would  invite  a  Christian  minister  to  be  present  in  any 
assembly  in  which  dancing,  card-playing,  or  amuse- 
ments of  that  character  were  contemplated,  so  any 
minister  who  respects  himself  should  promptly  with- 
draw from  any  scene  in  which  by  inadvertence,  col- 


486  INFLUENCE    UPON  CONVERSATION 

lusion,  or  other  cause,   such    amusements  might  be 
introduced.  ^ 

Whoever  would  influence  others  must  walk  circum- 
spectly himself,  and  he  who  will  be  every-where  ex- 
pected to  illustrate  the  proprieties  of  a  religious  life 
and  conversation  must  avoid  being  made  the  append- 
age of  ceremonies  or  being  placed  in  any  position  in 
which  he  will  seem  to  countenance  what  in  reality 
he  does  not  approve.  More  than  this,  a  pastor  should 
not  in  any  company  content  himself  with  mere  nega- 
tive influence,  but  should  be  on  the  alert  to  speak 
words  in  season  to  one  and  another,  that  may  in- 
duce thoughtfulness,  self-examination,  or  inquiries  after 
truth.  In  this  way  he  may  illustrate  what  George 
Herbert  calls  keeping  God's  watch.  That  author's 
words  on  the  subject  still  deserve  to  be  read  with 
attention : 

"THE  PARSON  IN  SENTINEL." 

"  The  parson,  wherever  he  is,  keeps  God's  watch  ;  that  is,  there 
is  nothing  spoken  or  tlone  in  the  company  where  he  is,  but  comes 
under  his  test  and  censure.  If  it  be  well  spoken  or  done,  he  takes 
occasion  to  commend  and  enlarge  it.  If  ill,  he  presently  lays 
hold  of  it,  lest  the  poison  steal  into  some  young  and  unwary 
spirits  and  possess  them  even  before  they  themselves  heed  it. 
But  this  he  doth  discreetly,  with  mollifying  and  suppling  words : 
This  was  not  so  well  said  as  it  might  have  been  forborne  ;  we 
can  not  allow  this  ;  or  else,  if  the  thing  will  admit  interpretation, 
your  meaning  is  not  thus,  but  thus  ;  or,  so  far,  indeed,  what  you 
say  is  true  and  well  said,  but  this  will  not  stand.  This  is  called 
keeping  God's  watch,  when  the  baits  which  the  enemy  lays  in 
company  are  discovered  and  avoided ;  this  is  to  be  on  God's 
siie,  and  be  true  to  his  party." 

From  every  view  of  the  case  it  becomes  apparent 
that  pastors  need  to  cultivate  conversational  ability  as 


CONVERSATIONAL  ABILITY,  487 

a  talent  of  the  greatest  value  in  properly  sustaining 
their  social  relations,  and  in  always  being  prepared  to 
maintain  the  supremacy  of  truth  and  a  happy  personal 
mfluence  in  the  midst  of  whatever  rivalry,  surprises, 
or  opposition  may  arise.  Let  them  not  be  discour- 
aged if  this  can  not  be  done  at  once,  nor  indeed,  if 
they  become  conscious  of  repeated  failures.  It  is  an 
object  worthy  of  studious  consideration,  of  special 
preparation,  and  of  continued  and  persevering  effort. 
It  would  seem  that  no  one  who  had  taken  ordinary 
pains  to  qualify  himself  for  public  speaking  by  ac- 
quiring knowledge  and  the  capacities  of  thought  and 
expression,  ought  to  be  in  the  slightest  degree  em- 
barrassed in  conversation.  Yet  there  is  something 
in  the  individuality  and  the  immediate  nearness  of 
persons  familiarly  spoken  to,  in  the  reciprocal  gaze  of 
the  eye,  and  in  direct  repartee,  that  may  sometimes 
confuse  the  mind  and  agitate  the  feelings  more  than 
the  presence  of  a  congregation,  where  the  speaker 
hears  only  his  own  voice. 

Yet,  who  that  has  mingled  in  society  from  child- 
hood has  not  learned  to  converse  1  In  fact,  it  may  be^ 
assumed  that  conversation  is  natural.  Embarrass- 
ment is  artificial.  Yet,  if  a  young  man  has  for  a  long 
time  excluded  himself  from  society,  as  during  his  pe- 
riod of  study,  his  embarrassment  may  be  not  only 
real,  but  painful  on  resuming  association  with  pro- 
miscuous companies,  and  especially  on  assuming  the 
responsibilities  of  a  new  and  public  character.  In 
such  cases  there  is  an  obvious  necessity  for  re-educa- 
tion in  this  elementary  function  of  human  life  and 
duty.     At  this  period  in  a  minister's  history,  what- 


488  CLERICAL  MANNERS. 

ever  may  have  been  his  previous  advantages  or  lack 
of  advantages,  the  subject  of  clerical  manners  may 
properly  claim  his  attention.  This  subject  is  closely 
aUied  with  that  of  conversation.  Neither  of  them 
ought  to  be  considered  difficult.  Yet  to  become  able 
to  converse  well  in  all  circumstances,  and  to  acquire 
that  perfection  and  refinement  of  manners  which  will 
render  a  clergyman  acceptable  and  influential  in  the 
best  society,  will  require  close  observation  of  good 
models  and  of  prevailing  customs,  together  with  a 
thoughtful  application  of  his  knowledge  and  common 
sense  to  all  his  words  and  actions.  '^  Books  are  not 
wanting  which  discuss  with  more  or  less  minuteness 
the  subject  of  parlor  or  table  etiquette,  and  the  various 
faults  which  offend  against  propriety  and  gentility. 
As  a  safeguard  against  possible  mistakes,  it  is  not 
amiss  for  ministers  to  read,  or  at  least  glance  through, 
such  books.  But  no  minister  should  ever  think  of 
governing  his  manners  by  artificial  rules.  \  A  truer 
gentility  may  be  attained  by  the  simple  and  conscien- 
tious embodiment  in  all  his  words  and  actions  of  the 
great  principles  of  Christian  propriety,  such  as  kind- 
ness, gentleness,  condescension,  forbearance,  and  a 
desire  to  respect  the  feelings  and  promote  the  welfare 
of  others.  Any  case  of  doubt  as  to  their  application 
can  usually  be  solved  by  the  golden  rule.  As  the 
principles  referred  to  ought  to  govern  a  minister's 
thoughts  and  actions  under  all  circumstances,  so  any 
violation  of  them  is  nearly  as  great  a  breach  of  minor 
morals  as.  it  is  of  manners.  Hence  it  is  that  selfish- 
ness in  all  its  forms,  open  indulgence,  or  fondness  for 
indulgences  of  the  appetite,  the  use  of  tobacco  or  other 


OFFENSIVE  TRAITS.  489 

narcotics  and  stimulants,  ungainly  attitudes,  lounging 
habits,  cant  expressions,  and  in  short,  words  or  deeds 
of  any  kind  incompatible  with  the  highest  purity  of 
person  or  dignity  of  character,  are  peculiarly  offensive 
in  a  professed  minister  of  the  gospel. 

It  may  be  added  that  clergymen  should  not  be 
over-sensitive.  While  ready  to  accord  to  others  all 
that  true  courtesy  would  prompt,  they  should  not  be 
exacting  of  either  ceremony  or  respect  from  others. 
Especially  toward  persons  of  small  opportunities  of 
knowing  what  courtesy  requires,  they  should  construe 
conduct  on  the  principle  of  the  broadest  charity. 

In  addition  to  all,  they  should  hold  themselves  ready 
and  even  pleased  to  receive  hints  concerning  any  mis- 
takes they  have  made  or  to  which  they  are  accus- 
tomed, and  all  suggestions  by  which  they  may  im- 
prove their  manners  or  increase  their  usefulness, 
whether  in  private  or  in  public. 

Young  ministers  should  not  be  unaware  that  much 
of  the  consideration  shown  them  in  society  is  on  ac- 
count of  their  public,  religious  character  and  their 
official  relations  to  the  Church. 

Hence  they  should  not  only  be  on  their  guard 
against  flattery,  but  should  feel  bound  to  maintain, 
in  every  possible  form,  the  credit  of  the  Church  and 
the  honor  of  that  religion  which  they  are  expected  to 
represent.  They  should  understand,  moreover,  that 
the  freedom  with  which  they  are  admitted  into  fami- 
lies and  society  is,  in  a  large  degree,  confidential,  and 
based  on  the  general  respect  which  the  Protestant 
clergy  of  America  have  won  for  themselves  and  their 
class   by    exemplary   conduct   and   religious   fidelity. 


490        SACREDNESS  OF  PASTORAL  RELATIONS. 

This  circumstance  devolves  corresponding  obligations 
upon  pastors  who  should  ever  consider  themselves 
bound  to  preserve  inviolate  and  inviolable  the  com- 
munications which  are  made  to  them  in  their  offi- 
cial capacity.  It  is  in  this  capacity  that  they  are  wel- 
comed to  the  most  sacred  intimacies  of  individuals 
and  families  in  all  grades  of  society,  and  it  is  equally 
for  their  personal  credit  and  usefulness  and  for  the 
continued  esteem  of  the  sacred  profession  that  they 
scrupulously  honor  whatever  confidence  is  reposed  in 
them.  When  properly  instituted  and  maintained,  the 
relations  between  a  pastor  and  the  families  of  his  flock 
become  hallowed  by  the  most  endearing  ties.  To  them 
as  to  the  heirs  of  Christ's  kingdom  and  subjects  of  his 
own  special  solicitude,  his  own  heart  is  drawn  forth 
in  pure  affection,  while  on  their  part  his  disinterested 
friendship,  his  intelligent  and  faithful  advice,  and  the 
happy  influence  he  is  able  to  exert  upon  young  and 
old — upon  the  wayward  as  well  as  the  virtuous — cause 
his  company  to  be  coveted  and  his  kind  offices  to  be 
prized  beyond  those  of  any  ordinary  friendship.  When 
their  friends  arrive  from  distant  places  his  company  is 
solicited,  that  he  may  be  a  partaker  of  their  joy.  When 
their  children  are  to  be  consecrated  to  God  in  holy 
baptism,  he  is  called  on  to  administer  the  ordinance 
and  enroll  their  young  names  upon  the  records  of  the 
Church.  Are  children  or  friends  of  maturer  years  to 
be  married,  the  pastor  is  expected  to  celebrate  the 
nuptials. 

Nor  is  their  participation  in  the  memorable  scenes  of 
family  history  less  desired  when  joy  is  turned  to  sor- 
row and  grief  pervades  the  household.     Does  disease 


SCENES  OF  JOY  AND  SORROW.  49 1 

invade  the  dwelling  and  lay  its  withering  hand  upon 
loved  ones  of  the  family  group,  whose  presence  is  so 
much  desired  and  whose  consolations  are  so  much 
prized  as  those  of  the  faithful  pastor  ?  Does  the  last 
enemy  find  a  victim  in  that  family  circle,  how  desira- 
ble is  it  to  all  that  the  pastor  officiate  at  the  funeral, 
and  by  his  reading  of  Scripture  lessons  and  his  ten- 
der utterances  of  sacred  truth,  present  the  instruc- 
tions called  for  by  so  sad  an  event !  Also,  in  the 
scenes  of  mourning  which  follow  the  laying  of  loved 
ones  in  the  grave,  how  grateful  is  the  presence  of  the 
sympathizing  pastor,  who  can  apply  the  balm  of  con- 
solation to  wounded  hearts,  and  be  to  them  God's  agent 
in  helping  the  afflictions  of  the  present  time  work  out 
for  them  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory !  Thus  equally  in  scenes  of  joy  and  sorrow  the 
true  pastor  becomes,  and  is  felt  to  be,  one  of  the  nearest 
and  dearest  of  earthly  friends. 

Even  apart  from  these  peculiar  relations,  it  is  within 
his  province  to  touch  society  at  many  vital  points.  In 
scenes  of  public  calamity  he  is  expected  to  be  both 
an  adviser  and  a  consoler,  while  in  all  good  and  phi- 
lanthropic activities  he  has  an  opportunity  to  act  either 
as  a  leader  or  an  influential  coadjutor.  Thus  it  be- 
comes evident  that  in  his  social  capacity,  scarcely  less 
than  in  his  office  of  public  religious  teacher,  the  Chris- 
tian pastor  may,  by  properly  fulfilling  his  mission,  exert 
a  wide  and  happy  influence  upon  the  welfare  and  des- 
tinies of  his  fellow-men. 

But  that  these  high  results  may  be  attained  he  must 
maintain  ir  society  an  unblemished  consistency  with 
his   pubic   ministerial   character.      "Watching    unto 


492 


WA  TCHFULNESS. 


prayer "  should  be  his  motto,  not  less  in  the  drawing- 
room  than  in  the  pulpit.  Society  is  not  only  a  field 
of  usefulness,  but  also  of  danger.  Sometimes  its  fasci- 
nations allure  ministers  to  a  waste  of  time,  and  some- 
times to  the  countenance  of  evil. 

If  when  our  Savior  was  upon  earth  "the  Pharisees 
took  counsel  how  they  might  entangle  him  in  his 
talk,"  (Matt,  xxii,  15,)  his  disciples  of  the  present  day 
need  not  be  surprised  if  they  are  sometimes  the  ob- 
ject of  similar  and  even  worse  designs  from  men  and 
women  whom  they  may  meet.  While  therefore  they 
should  be  free  and  fearless  in  communicating  the 
truth  and  all  good  influences,  they  should  be  on  their 
guard  lest  at  any  time  their  "  good  be  evil  spoken 
of,"  or  their  influence  neutralized  by  the  slightest 
weakness  or  indiscretion.* 

*  See  Cecil's  observations  on  a  minister's  familiar  intercourse  with  his 
hearers.     "  Cecil's  Remains."     Carters,  New  York. 


EVILS  OF  ASCETICISM,  493 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   PASTOR   IN   HIS    FAMILY. 

THE  Christian  pastor  should  neither  be  an  ascetic, 
a  hermit,  nor  a  monk.  Consequently  he  should 
not  be  subject  to  a  constrained  celibacy.  It  was  an 
evil  day  in  which  Christianity  began  to  deviate  from 
the  social  life  commended  and  illustrated  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  to  imitate  the  ascetic  practices  of 
Oriental  Paganism  and  of  a  corrupt  Judaism.  Yet 
such  was  the  origin  of  the  whole  system  of  monas- 
ticism  and  of  the  clerical  celibacy  which  the  Greek 
and  Roman  Churches  have  so  long  encouraged  and 
enjoined. 

No  language  can  adequately  portray  the  evils  that 
have  resulted  to  Christianity  from  this  one  great 
error,  not  merely  in  the  immoralities  that  have  grown 
out  of  a  system  at  war  with  nature,  but  also  from 
that  fearful  waste  and  perversion  of  talent  by  which 
for  long  ages  so  many  of  the  best  men  and  wo- 
men of  the  Church  withdrew  themselves  from  the 
usual  associations  of  life,  where  as  the  salt  of  the 
earth  they  were  greatly  needed,  and  retired  to  caves, 
and  deserts,  and  monastic  cells,  to  spend  their  days 
in  useless  soHtude  and  inflictions.  No  such  system 
was  countenanced  by  our  Lord   Jesus   Christ.     The 


494  ^^^  LAPFS  OF  SOCIETY-^EXCEPTIONS. 

tenor  of  his  teaching  was  designed  to  guard  his  fol- 
lowers against  asceticism,  as  may  be  seen  from  his  re- 
bukes and  denunciations  of  the  Pharisees,  and  also  to 
instruct  and  employ  them  in  those  active  and  useful 
duties  which  equally  promote  the  welfare  of  men  and 
the  glory  of  God.  The  spirit  of  his  doctrine  on  this 
subject  is  indicated  by  his  memorable  prayer  for  his 
disciples,  "  I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldst  take  them 
out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldst  keep  them 
from  the  evil."  John  xvii,  15.  The  teachings  of 
the  New  Testament  contemplate  Christians  as  actual 
members  of  human  society,  and  make  no  exceptions 
with  reference  to  ministers.  Although  they  do  not 
specifically  enjoin  marriage  upon  individuals,  they  com- 
mend it  as  "honorable  in  all,"  and  the  allusions  of 
Christ  and  the  apostles  to  the  design  of  the  Creator 
and  the  universal  instincts  of  humanity,*  show  that 
Christianity  was  not  designed  to  contravene,  but  to 
elevate  and  hallow  the  domestic  relations.  Neverthe- 
less, while  marrjage  may  be  considered  the  general  law 
of  human  society,  there  may  be  many  exceptional  cases 
in  which  it  is  the  duty  of  individuals  to  refrain  from 
it.  When  a  minister  adopts  that  course  in  the  con- 
viction that  he  may  thus  do  more  to  promote  the 
extension  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  his  motives 
deserve  to  be  honored.  The  history  of  the  Church 
contains  notable  examples  of  this  character.  It  may 
be  sufficient  to  name  Paul  among  the  apostles,  and 
Asbury  and  M'Kendree  among  the  apostolic  bishops 
of  America. 

Many  such,  though   less  distinguished  exceptions, 

*Matt.  xix,  5  ;  Mark  x,  5 ;  Eph.  v,  31. 


CAUTION  NEEDED.  495 

may  exist  and  continue  to  occur,  and  may  be  highly 
commendable  in  view  of  peculiar  personal  circum- 
stances and  of  peculiar  phases  of  ministerial  labor. 
Nevertheless,  it  may  be  considered  as  a  general  rule, 
established  by  long  experience,  that  pastors  should 
be  married  men.  No  argument  is  necessary  to  cor- 
roborate an  opinion  so  generally  received  in  all  Prot- 
estant Churches,  and  even  sustained  by  the  expe- 
rience of  Roman  Catholics.  On  the  other  hand, 
wholesome  cautions  seem  to  be  called  for,  lest  some 
of  the  young  men  of  the  present  day,  so  far  from 
neglecting  their  liberty  in  this  regard,  make  an  in- 
discreet use  of  it.  Since  to  err  is  human,  perhaps  it 
ought  not  tD  be  a  cause  of  surprise  that  mistakes  are 
made  even  in  so  important  a  matter  as  this  by  per- 
sons not  chargeable  with  any  bad  intentions.  Yet, 
since  mistakes  in  forming  life -long  relations  are  im- 
possible of  remedy,  and  may  seriously  prejudice  sacred 
interests  of  the  Church  as  well  as  the  happiness  and 
usefulness  of  those  who  make  them,  it  seems  not  too 
much  to  suggest  that  the  subject  in  question  is  enti- 
tled to  a  more  intelligent  consideration  and  more 
patient  inquiries,  both  as  to  the  proper  period  and 
conditions  of  marriage,  than  it  has  sometimes  re- 
ceived. Therefore,  notwithstanding  the  proverbial 
uselessness  of  unasked  advice,  and  indeed  of  any  ad- 
vice in  regard  to  matrimony,  the  author  will  venture 
a  few  hints  for  the  benefit  of  young  men  who  think 
themselves  called  to  the  ministry,  which,  (if  seen  in 
time,)  he  is  confident,  will  not  be  without  advantage 
to  those,  at  least,  of  whom  any  high  degree  of  useful- 
ness can  be  expected. 


4g6  ERRORS  TO  BE  AVOIDED. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  others,  it  is  rare  to  find 
in  this  class  of  persons  the  character  whom  Solo- 
mon describes  as  ''wiser  in  his  own  conceit  than 
seven  men  that  can  render  a  reason."  Pro  v.  xxvi,  i6. 
It  may  consequently  be  assumed  that  young  men  pos- 
sessing the  qualities  referred  to  will  gladly  hear  in- 
struction and  "attend  to  know  understanding."  All 
such  will  regard  it  as  a  religious  duty  to  take  warn- 
ing from  the  errors  of  others,  and  to  avoid  all  courses 
which  have  been  proved  to  be  wrong.  Of  these  the 
following  may  be  mentioned  : 

1.  [Any  tampering  with  the  affections  of  ladies. 
Words  and  actions  which  from  other  persons  might 
not  be  particularly  considered,  when  indulged  by  in- 
tending ministers  are  liable  to  be  construed  as  very 
significant.  Hence  the  great  propriety  of  the  rule, 
"  Converse  sparingly  and  conduct  yourself  prudently 
with  women."  \  And  also  of  the  resolution  of  the 
Psalmist:  "I  will  take  heed  to  my  ways,  that  I  sin 
not  with  my  tongue." 

2.  Premature  engagements.  Matrimonial  engage- 
ments on  the  part  of  actual  or  intending  ministers 
are  to  be  regarded  as  premature  which  lack  any 
of  the  following  prerequisites:  (i.)  Age,  physically 
and  intellectually  mature  in  both  parties.  (2.)  A 
completed  education.  (3.)  A  developed  and  estab- 
lished character.  (4.)  A  demonstrated  capacity  of 
self  and  family  support.  Students  in  all  grades  of 
institutions  and  probationers  in  Conferences  should 
consider  the  full  weight  and  bearing  of  these  tests. 
In  the  Hght  of  them  few  courses  of  conduct  betray 
more  certain  indications  of  mental  or  moral  weakness 


HIGH  AND  PURE  MOTIVES  DEMANDED.      497 

than  undue  haste  in  assuming  the  cares  and  responsi- 
bilities of  matrimonial  life.  ^^ 

3.  Unsuitable  engagements.  ['No  matrimonial  en- 
gagement can  be  considered  suitable  for  a  Christian 
minister  in  which  the  lady  lacks  either  a  decided 
Christian  experience,  a  good  and  practical  education, 
or  a  decided  and  earnest  sympathy  for  Christian  asso- 
ciations  and    Christian   labor.. ^Incongruity  of  taste, 

great  disparity  of  age  and  circumstances  in  life,  to- 
gether with  various  other  characteristics  and  condi- 
tions that  need  not  be  mentioned,  will  by  thoughtful 
persons  be  considered  also  a  sufficient  barrier  to  mat- 
rimony on  the  part  of  ministers. 

4.  Marrying  for  wealth  or  for  any  motive  not  sus- 
tained by  deep  and  pure  personal  affection.  If  matri- 
mony is  a  transaction  of  so  grave  importance  that, 
according  to  the  language  of  the  Ritual,  it  "  is  not  by 
any  to  be  entered  into  imadvisedly,  but  reverently, 
discreetly,  and  in  fear  of  God,"  then  certainly  no 
person  who  believes  himself  called  to  the  ministry  of 
the  gospel  has  the  moral  right  to  act  in  a  matter  so 
greatly  involving  not  only  his  own  welfare,  but  that  of 
the  Church,  from  any  motives  that  will  not  bear  the 
fullest  scrutiny.  Hence  the  great  propriety  of  the 
disciplinary  advice,  "  Take  no  step  toward  marriage 
without  first  consulting  with  your  brethren."  The 
spirit  of  this  rule  does  not  imply  indiscriminate  or 
ceremonious  consultation  on  the  subject,  but  rather 
that  every  minister  should  secure  to  himself  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  impartial  judgment  of  one  or  two 
confidential  friends.  With  even  this  precaution,  it  is 
not  certain  that  all  mistakes  can  be  avoided ;  never- 

42 


498  THE  PASTOR'S  WIFE. 

theless  the  liability  to  mistake  is  greatly  reduced  ; 
whereas,  he  who  through  pride  or  false  delicacy  ignores 
the  advice  or  the  judgment  of  others,  is  entitled  to 
but  little  sympathy  whatever  mistakes  he  may  com- 
mit. Lasting  and  bitter  have  been  the  consequences 
of  unwise  marriages  on  the  part  of  ministers.  Nor 
have  these  consequences  been  experienced  only  by 
young  men.  No  other  example  need  be  cited  in  proof 
of  both  statements  than  that  of  Mr.  Wesley,  and  the 
probability  is  that  his  matrimonial  misfortune  might 
have  been  avoided  by  a  judicious  compliance  with 
the  spirit  of  his  own  rule. 

As  to  the  proper  qualifications  of  a  pastor's  wife,  it 
may  be  summarily  said,  that  they  should  correspond 
in  all  important  respects  with  those  demanded  in  the 
pastor  himself.* 

If  any  should  think  that  this  assertion  places  the 
standard  too  high  let  him  reflect  upon,  i.  The  unity 
of  character  and  influence  contemplated  by  the  mar- 
riage relation  ;  and  2.  The  peculiar  responsibilities 
and  duties  of  the  pastor  s  wife. 

The  first  of  these  topics  has  only  to  be  considered 
in  the  light  of  the  Scripture  affirmation,  "  they  twain 
shall  be  one  flesh  ;"  to  make  it  evident  that  no  one 
can  succeed  well  as  a  pastor  whose  wife  lacks  the  es- 
sential characteristics  of  the  experience,  knowledge, 
and  character  defined  in  the  chapter  referred  to. 

While  this  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  in  detail  the 
peculiar  responsibilities  and  duties  of  a  pastor's  wife, 
it  doubtless  is  the  place  to  assert  that  both  demand 
full  exemplification  in  the  following  particulars : 

*See  Chap,  vi,  pp.  177-243. 


MOTIVES  AND  MEANS  OF  IMPROVEMENT,      4gg 

1.  A  pastor's  wife  should  be  a  model  Christian  wo- 
man, illustrating  with  religious  fidelity  all  those  traits 
of  character  which  ennoble  and  adorn  her  sex. 

2.  As  manager  and  head  of  the  pastor's  household 
she  should  maintain  a  model  home,  adapted  to  her 
circumstances,  and,  if  need  be,  to  her  trials. 

3.  She  should  be  a  true  helpmeet  of  the  minister 
in  the  many  phases  and  departments  of  his  work  in 
which  she  can  render  him  aid. 

4.  While  she  should  not  be  forward,  or  feel  herself 
neglected,  if  not  put  forward  in  Church  enterprises, 
she  should  nevertheless  qualify  herself,  and  be  ready, 
if  occasion  requires,  to  be  a  judicious  and  enterpris- 
ing leader  in  those  various  forms  of  Christian  activity 
in  which  ladies  can  act  with  propriety  and  efficiency. 

Should  the  question  be  asked,  What  can  be  done 
when  ladies  have  been  induced  to  assume  the  position 
of  ministers'  wives  without  either  the  qualifications 
requisite  or  any  adequate  idea  of  them  .''  the  answer 
is  obvious  and  demands  application  in  hundreds  of 
cases.  Every  efibrt  should  be  made  by  the  ladies  in 
question  to  attain  the  qualifications  needed,  and  all 
possible  aid  should  be  rendered  them  on  the  part  of 
their  husbands  for  that  specific  object.  In  the  major- 
ity of  cases  the  faults  existing  are  more  attributable 
to  the  husbands  than  to  the  wives.  Had  the  former 
been  considerate  and  patient,  and  allowed  sufficient 
time,  the  latter  would  doubtless  have  liked  nothing  so 
well  as  opportunities  for  special  preparation  for  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  upon  which  they  are  invited 
to  enter,  but  which  they  were  not  previously  author- 
ized to  anticipate.     Great   inconsiderateness  is  often 


500  JOINT  RESPONSIBILITY. 

displayed  at  this  very  point.  Young  men  who  have 
for  long  years  been  studying  to  prepare  themselves 
for  ministerial  duty,  seem  to  expect  ladies  to  whom 
they  propose  marriage,  to  be  ready  for  corresponding 
duties  in  the  course  of  a  few  months.  But  worse 
than  this,  when  marriage  is  consummated,  they  take 
no  suitable  measures  to  aid  their  companions  in  secur- 
ing the  adaptations,  and  making  the  improvement 
possible  to  them  in  their  new  positions. 

Thus  many  a  young  minister,  however  inadver- 
tently, has  become  actually  culpable  in  neglecting  to 
encourage  in  his  wife  those  high  aspirations  and  stu- 
dious habits  which  would  have  enabled  her  to  keep 
pace  with  his  own  mental  progress,  if  not  even  to 
quicken  and  lead  it  forward.  At  the  same  time,  he 
has  incurred  the  responsibility  of  imposing  upon 
the  object  of  his  aifections  a  heavy  burden  of  family 
cares  which  she  has  been  doomed  to  bear  for  the  re- 
mainder of  her  life. 

Reflection  will  enable  any  one  to  see  that  matrimo- 
nial partnership  should  extend,  at  least  in  spirit  and 
sympathy,  to  every  phase  of  practical  life,  and  that 
unless  it  does  in  the  pastoral  sphere,  instead  of  a 
perpetually  increasing  assimilation  of  character  and 
qualifications,  an  endless  divergence  may  take  place 
that  will  be  seriously  prejudicial  to, both  parties.  It 
is  scarcely  possible  to  avoid  such  a  divergence  where 
one  party  is  mentally  progressive  while  the  other  is 
stationary.  Hence,  as  every  minister  ought  to  be  in- 
tellectually progressive,  his  wife,  also,  in  her  sphere, 
ought  not  to  be  behind  him.  And  that  she  may  not 
be,  both  minister  and  people  are  responsible  to  relieve 


A  MODEL  HOME— DIFFICULTIES.  50 1 

her  from  unnecessary  burdens,  and  to  encourage  her 
in  all  noble  efforts.* 

No  one  will  question  the  assertion  that  every  mar- 
ried pastor  ought  to  have  a  model  family,  in  which 
not  only  neatness,  order,  and  economy  of  household 
arrangements  but  also  Christian  life  and  duty  are 
constantly  exemplified.  Such  a  family,  in  any  com- 
munity, will  be  a  constant  power  for  good.  As  a  pre- 
siding genius  over  the  arrangements  and  harmonies 
of  domestic  life,  in  the  focus,  as  it  were,  of  a  religious 
community,  the  pastor's  wife  finds  her  primary  and 
peculiar  sphere  of  responsibility  and  influence.  Not 
only  is  she  expected  to  accomplish  the  usual  tasks  of  a 
good  wife  and  mother,  but  to  see  that  her  household  is 
regulated  with  a  controlling  reference  to  her  husband's 
personal  and  public  obligations.  If  it  is  his  duty  to 
devote  his  mornings  and  sometimes  other  hours  to 
study,  it  is  her  duty  not  only  to  avoid  trespassing 
upon  those  hours,  but  also  to  protect  him  as  much  as 
possible  from  the  interruptions  of  company,  and  yet 
to  treat  with  courtesy  all  persons  who  may  call.  She 
should  also  be  on  the  alert  for  opportunities  in  which 
to  exert  a  happy  social  and  religious  influence  in  the 
Church  and  community.  Innumerable  are  the  ways 
in  which  womanly  tact,  under  the  control  of  Christian 
sympathy,  fervent  zeal,  and  a  wise  discretion  can  aid 
and  supplement  a  pastor's  best  endeavors  to  do  good 
and  build  up  the  Church. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  or  even  doubted  that  both 
^J^^^iscstor  and    his  wife  must  encounter  difficulties, 

\  *  For  a  spirited  sketch  of  what  ministers'  wives  ought  to  be  and  to 
do,  see  an  article  by  one  of  their  number,  herself  an  example  of  ak 
that  she  recommends,  in  the  Ladies'  Repository  of  January,  1871.      1 


502  TRIALS  AND  ADVANTAGES. 

and  sometimes  serious  difficulties,  in  maintaining  a 
high  standard  of  family  order,  government,  and  influ- 
ence. Many  are  the  inconveniences  they  suffer  in  the 
course  of  successive  removals,  and  especially  in  the 
exposure  of  their  children  to  so  many  acquaintances 
and  often  undesirable  influences.  It  is  not  seldom 
that  even  the  partiahties  of  their  friends  cause  them 
embarrassments  difficult  to  be  managed.  Neverthe- 
less, when  their  crosses  are  borne  in  the  spirit  of  self- 
denial  for  Christ's  sake,  they  usually  prove  to  be  bless- 
ings in  disguise,  or  at  least  are,  in  the  end,  overruled 
for  their  good.  With  them  as  with  others  "  't  is  home 
where  the  heart  is,"  and  when  their  heart  is  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  salvation  of  the  community  in  which 
their  lot  is  cast,  they  learn  to  toil  cheerfully,  and,  if 
necessary,  endure  privations  patiently  for  the  sake  of 
Him  who  hath  called  them  to  so  great  and  good  a  work. 
But  with  all  he  is  called  on  to  do  for  others,  the 
pastor  must  never  forget  that  his  family  is  a  part  of 
his  field  of  ministerial  labor.  In  it  he  must  offer 
daily  the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  of  thanksgiv- 
ing and  prayer.  In  it  he  must,  not  on  the  Sabbath 
merely,  but  constantly,  preach  by  example  as  well  as 
by  precept,  and  in  it  he  may  hope  to  gather  some  of 
the  richest  and  ripest  fruits  of  his  labor  in  the  vine- 
yard of  the  Lord.  All  these  considerations  combine 
to  render  the  home  associations  of  a  pastor  very 
sacred  and  precious  to  him,  and  all  the  more  so  when 
he  is  enabled  to  see  that  even  with  added  cares  and 
burdens  his  family  becomes  to  him  an  agency  of  help 
to  an  enlarged  and  enlarging  influence  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  he   dwells.     Certain  if  is,   that   in 


HOME  COURTESIES.  503 

the  bosom  of  his  family,  and  amid  the  surroundings 
of  wife  and  children,  he  learns  to  take  views  of  human 
life  far  more  real,  and,  consequently,  better  adapted 
to  influence  his  opinions  and  teachings  than  if  he 
dwelt  in  a  cloister  or  in  personal  seclusion  from  the 
actualities  of  human  society. 

In  conclusion  of  this  chapter,  it  is  proper  to  say, 
that  if  a  pastor  would  have  a  model  home  and  make 
that  home  an  agency  of  good  to  all  who  come  within 
its  influence,  he  must,  on  his  part,  be  a  model  of  all 
home  proprieties  and  courtesies.  It  is  not  enough 
that  he  be  polite  and  agreeable  in  other  circles,  or 
even  command  admiration  in  general  society.  He 
must  also,  where  he  is  known  best,  be  an  example  of 
all  that  is  winning  and  lovely  in  his  daily  walk  and 
conversation-;  manifesting  to  his  wife  and  children,  if 
he  have  them,  a  deep,  tender,  and  constant  interest  in 
their  welfare.  What  has  been  said  with  reference  to 
the  art  of  pleasing  is  scarcely  less  true  of  the  art  of 
doing  good  to  those  around  us — "it  lies  chiefly  in  a 
constant  attention  to  small  and  often  indescribable 
things."  Not  only  should  the  law  of  kindness  rule  in 
his  heart,  it  should  also  overflow  from  his  lips  in 
those  kind  words  which  never  die.  Especially,  when 
a  pastor's  cares  and  anxieties  weigh  upon  him,  he 
should  be  on  his  guard  against  that  gloominess  and 
reserve,  not  to  speak  of  petulance  and  irritability, 
which  will  inflict  upon  his  friends  the  penalties  of 
his  official  position.  Rather  by  habitual  geniality  in 
his  home  scenes  he  should  seek  those  agreeable 
changes  in  the  current  of  his  thoughts  which  will 
str'=?ngthen  him  for  other  scenes  and  sterner  duties. 


504         VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  CHRISTIAN  WORK, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    PASTOR   IN   HIS    RELATIONS    TO   CHRISTIAN 
ACTIVITIES  AND  ENTERPRISES. 

WHILE  the  Church  is  divinely  appointed  as 
"  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,"  and  as 
the  one  central  agency  by  which  the  world  is  to  be 
rescued  from  the  power  of  sin,  yet  its  forms  of  action 
are  various,  and  sometimes  indirect.  It  therefore  be- 
comes a  Christian  pastor  to  be  associated  with  various 
agencies  of  benevolence  in  which  good  men  may  co- 
operate, as  well  without  as  within  the  sphere  of  Church 
work.  Nevertheless  he  should  be  on  his  guard  against 
committing  himself,  or  the  influence  of  the  Church, 
to  ill-judged  or  impracticable  schemes,  under  what- 
ever auspices  they  may  be  proposed.  The  present  is 
an  age  both  of  real  and  of  pretended  reform.  The 
good  that  has  been  done,  and  is  being  accomplished 
by  legitimate  Christian  agencies,  has  stimulated  in 
many  persons  a  desire  for  notoriety.  Hence  there 
seems  to  be  no  end  to  projects,  conventions,  and  or- 
ganizations, proposing  the  mitigation  of  evils  and  the 
promotion  of  good.  While  some  of  them  may  be 
called  for,  and  a  still  greater  number  may  be  well 
meant,  some  have  not  even  these  recommendations, 
and  many  others  lack  so  many  essential  elements 
of  success    that   they  ought   not   to  be  encouraged. 


PUBLIC  CHARITIES— TEMPERANCE.  50$ 

As  direct  Church  work,  in  one  form  or  another,  com- 
prehends nearly  every  thing  that  is  good,  and  is  of  it- 
self sufficient  to  absorb  the  time  and  energies  of  the 
strongest  men,  pastors  should  only  assent  to  render 
personal  or  official  co-operation  to  those  auxiliary  en- 
terprises of  which  the  good  character  and  practical 
tendencies  are  fully  established.  Of  these  there  is  no 
lack,  and  to  some  of  them,  attention  will  now  be  briefly 
called. 

1.  Public  Charities.  So  long  as  the  precept,  *'Do 
good  unto  all  men,"  is  in  force,  no  Christian,  nor 
Christian  Church,  can  be  indifferent  to  the  distresses 
of  the  afflicted,  nor  to  any  judicious  efforts  for  their 
alleviation.  Hence  it  may  often  occur  that  endeavors 
to  relieve  the  poor,  to  succor  the  unfortunate,  and  pro- 
vide for  the  helpless,  whether  in  isolated  cases,  or  by 
general  and  permanent  foundations,  should  have  the 
full  influence  of  a  pastor's  advocacy  and  personal  ex- 
ertions. Our  Lord's  statement,  "  The  poor  ye  have 
always  with  you,"  is  a  standing  appeal  to  the  liber- 
ality of  the  Church,  and  whether  Churches  act  singly 
or  collectively,  or  through  general  organizations,  pas- 
tors should  never  be  backward  in  pressing  upon  their 
people  the  full  claims  of  Christian  charity. 

2.  The  Cause  of  Temperaiice.  j  So  prevalent,  and  so 
.  fatal  to  all  the  true  interests  of  humanity  are  the  evils 

of  intemperance,  that  any  Christian  minister  who  does 
not  seek  to  prevent  and  mitigate  them  by  all  the 
means  in  his  power,  deserves  the  reprobation  of  good 
men  every-where,  and  all  the  more  if  he  does  not 
stand  condemned  by  his  own  conscience,!  The  tem- 
perance reformation  practically  originated  in  the  Chris- 

43 


506  TEMPERANCE  MEASURES. 

tian  Church,  and  has  during  its  whole  history  been  a 
valuable  auxiliary  to  direct  Christian  influence.  It 
has  rescued  thousands  of  persons  from  habits  of  dis- 
sipation, and  saved  tens  of  thousands  from  forming 
such  habits  by  its  influence  in  banishing  drinking  cus- 
toms from  good  society.  But  notwithstanding  all  it 
has  done  in  demonstrating  that  total  abstinence  is  an 
absolute  remedy  for  intemperance,  and  in  checking  its 
ravages,  yet  the  tide  of  this  terrible  ruin  flows  on,  and 
continues  to  sweep  victims  without  number  into  the 
vortex  of  destruction.  Those  who  wish  to  do  what 
they  can  toward  preventing  intemperance,  and  rescu- 
ing its  actual  victims,  will  not  be  indifferent  to  the 
following  suggestions  : 

(i.)  Not  only  every  pastor,  but  every  Christian  min- 
ister, should  be  himself  a  pledged  abstainer  from  every 
thing  that  intoxicates,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to 
give  the  weight  of  a  consistent  example  on  the  right 
side.  He  should  also  be  an  habitual  abstainer  from 
the  use  of  tobacco  in  all  its  forms,  for  the  double  pur- 
pose of  maintaining  personal  purity  (of  the  flesh  and 
of  the  spirit),  and  of  escaping  the  taunt  of  inconsist- 
ency embodied  in  that  old  rebuke,  "Physician  heal 
thyself."  With  what  effect  can  a  smoker  or  a  chewer 
of  the  filthy  weed  reprove  a  consumer  of  opium  or  a 
drinker  of  ardent  spirits  t  With  what  confidence  or 
hope  can  he  preach  any  form  of  temperance  or  self- 
denial  to  others,  when  he  fails  to  embody  in  his  own 
life  a  consistent  example  of  both  1 

(2.)  The  pastor  should  preach  faithfully,  and  with 
appropriate  frequency,  on  the  evils  of  intemperance 
and  their  remedy.     In  order  to  do  this  effectively  he 


CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS,  507 

should  make  himself  familiar  not  only  with  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject,  but  with  the  doc- 
uments and  statistics  of  the  temperance  reformation. 

(3.)  He  should  inculcate  temperance  principles  in 
his  Sunday-school,  taking  all  legitimate  measures  to 
enlist  children  and  young  persons  under  the  banner 
of  total  abstinence. 

(4.)  He  should  encourage  temperance  societies  of 
all  appropriate  forms,  and  hold  himself  ready  to  aid 
them  by  addresses  and  other  modes  of  co-operation. 

(5.)  He  should  provide  himself  with  temperance 
tracts,  and  also  with  temperance  pledges,  to  be  pre- 
sented to  individuals  and  families  as  occasions  may 
arise.  A  pastor  may  sometimes  secure  the  signature 
of  a  temperance  pledge  when  no  other  person  can. 
By  these  and  other  modes  of  co-operation  with  active 
temperance  measures,  much  good  may  be  accom- 
plished in  preparing  the  way  for  decided  Christian 
influence. 

3.  Young  Mens  Christian  Associations.  Within  re- 
cent years,  associations  of  this  name  have  been  formed 
in  the  large  cities  of  England  and  America,  and  have 
proved  very  successful  agencies  for  a  certain  class  of 
Christian  eftbrts. 

Their  main  purpose  is  to  aid  young  men  in  avoid- 
ing the  peculiar  temptations  by  which  they  are  beset, 
especially  in  cities,  and  to  provide  them  with  such 
social  and  other  privileges  as  are  thoroughly  leavened 
with  Christian  influence.  The  Christian  Association 
diflers  from  the  Church  in  that  it  has  immediate  ref- 
eren:e  to  the  wants  of  a  class,  and  adapts  all  its 
methods  to  the  peculiar  needs  of  young  men,  rather 


508  MORAL    WANTS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

than  to  the  general  wants  of  every  one.  As  a  natural 
consequence,  these  methods  are  such  as  accord  with 
the  special  working  capacities  of  young  men,  and  as 
are  an  offset  to  their  temptations.  Social  meetings, 
not  devotional,  are  properly  made  use  of,  because 
youth  have  a  special  fondness  for  society.  Public 
entertainments  are  also  employed,  because  during  the 
period  of  early  manhood  recreation  of  this  sort  has  a 
special  attractiveness.  These  and  other  various  ap- 
pliances used  by  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
are,  in  general,  wisely  adapted  to  the  particular  end 
in  view,  namely :  To  save  young  men  for  Christ  by 
the  agency  of  young  men  already  saved. 

In  nearly  every  community  there  are  many  young 
men  not  reached  by  the  ordinary  means  of  grace.  To 
seek  out  such  persons  and  make  special  effort  in  their 
behalf  was  the  design  for  which  these  associations 
came  into  being.  They  were  not  meant  to  be  rivals, 
but  auxiliaries  of  Christian  Churches.  In  this  design 
they  have  challenged  the  co-operation  and  support  of 
the  evangelical  Churches,  and  have  often  proved  very 
useful  as  a  bond  of  union  between  the  active  young 
men  of  different  Churches.  In  some  instances,  a  tend- 
ency has  been  manifested  to  magnify  the  importance 
of  Christian  associations,  so  as  to  give  them  the  pre- 
cedence of  Churches  and  Church  interests.  But  this 
error  is  too  obvious  to  command  general  approval, 
and  will  usually  disappear  before  the  cordial  co-opera- 
tion and  wholesome  advice  of  pastors  and  active 
Church  members.  As  it  is  a  Christian  duty  to  "  sow 
beside  all  waters,"  and  to  endeavor  to  save  souls  by 
all  available  instrumentalities,  pastors  can  not  properly 


CHURCH  PLANTING.  509 

be  indifferent  to  agencies  of  so  much  public  promise 
as  those  now  under  consideration.  They  should  rather 
seek  to  be  represented  in  them,  both  personally  and 
by  such  of  their  Ghurch  members  as  can  be  appro- 
priately delegated  for  that  work.  They  should,  how- 
ever, inculcate  no  doubtful  views  as  to  the  primary 
allegiance  which  Christian  young  men  owe  to  the 
Church  of  Christ,  while  at  the  same  time  they  culti- 
vate the  most  catholic  feelings  and  practice  the  most 
generous  self-sacrifice  in  behalf  of  measures  not  strictly 
in  Church  form. 

4.  Domestic  Missions.  As  a  part  of  their  proper 
work  pastors  should  be  on  the  lookout  for  home  mis- 
sion fields  in  which  both  they  and  their  people  can 
extend  Christian  influences,  and  exemplify  the  ag- 
gressive character  of  the  gospel.  An  essential  char- 
acteristic of  a  living  Church  is  actual  expansiveness. 
Where  there  is  vitality  there  is  growth,  and  growth 
by  multiplication  is  better  than  by  enlargement,  after 
the  highest  degree  of  working  efficiency  is  attained. 

The  planting  of  Churches  was  a  special  work  of  the 
apostles.  But  as  the  work  begun  by  them  will  not  be 
completed  till  the  evangelization  of  the  world  shall  be 
completed,  it  is  permitted  to  modern  pastors  and 
Churches  to  have  a  part  in  it.  Some  of  the  most 
prosperous  Churches  of  the  present  day  originated  in 
the  missionary  efforts  of  older  Churches. 

Sometimes  Church  planting  is  accomplished  by  de- 
taching a  small  number  of  Church  members  to  serve 
as  the  nucleus  of  a  new  organization,  and  sometimes 
by  the  agency  of  mission  Sunday-schools,  which  grow 
into  congregations.      Sunday-schools,   indeed,  are   a 


510  THE  FIELD  IS   THE   WORLD. 

favorite  and  favored  mode  of  Church  extension,  and 
deserve  to  be  prosecuted  in  every  practicable  locality 
for  that  object.  Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  idea  of 
domestic  missions,  as  here  advocated,  not  only  con- 
templates sustained  evangelistic  effort  among  the  poor 
and  the  wretched,  but  in  all  neighborhoods  where 
there  is  room  for  the  establishment  of  new  Churches. 
The  United  States  of  America,  the  home  of  emi- 
grants from  all  lands,  furnish  innumerable  and  ever- 
multiplying  fields  of  this  kind,  and  pastors  should 
every-where  seek  to  engage  their  people  in  cultivating 
them,  rejoicing  more  in  the  general  multiplication  of 
Christian  agencies  and  influence,  than  in  the  mere 
increase  of  their  own  membership. 

The  recent  emancipation  of  millions  of  slaves  within 
our  borders  has  created  the  necessity  of  a  very  impor- 
tant class  of  missions  throughout  large  sections  of  the 
United  States.  No  words  can  exaggerate  the  claims 
of  the  freedmen  of  the  South  upon  the  philanthropy 
and  religious  solicitude  of  Christian  Churches,  minis- 
ters, and  people.  As  the  domestic  missionary  efforts 
now  referred  to  are  most  successfully  prosecuted  by 
means  of  Sunday-schools,  Tract  distribution,  and  other 
forms  of  Christian  activity  already  described  in  this  vol- 
ume, further  remarks  on  this  head  seem  unnecessary. 

5.  Foreign  Missions.  A  true  ministerial  call  is 
not  limited  to  any  smaller  parish  than  the  world. 
Though  its  subject  may  live  and  die  in  a  comparatively 
narrow  sphere,  yet  he  should  keep  himself  in  constant 
sympathy,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  in  actual  contact 
with  the  world-wide  enterprises  of  Christianity.  If  a 
pastor  he  should  count  it  both  a  duty  and  a  joy  to 


A   PASTOR'S  DUTY.  51I 

enable  his  people  as  far  as  possible  to  occupy  a  simi- 
lar position.  Something  must  be  essentially  wrong 
either  in  pastor  or  people  when  that  result  is  not  at- 
tained. That  pastor  is  to  be  pitied  whose  narrowness 
of  views  would  allow  him  to  tolerate  in  himself  or 
others  isolation  from  the  cause  of  Christian  missions, 
or  inactivity  in  its  promotion.  Still  more  is  any  pas- 
tor to  be  blamed  who  would  so  far  pervert  his  pre- 
rogatives as  to  foster  indifference  or  practical  opposi- 
tion to  that  cause. 

As  Christianity  was  designed  for  a  world-wide  ex- 
tension, and  as  the  Church  was  instituted  as  the 
means  of  its  preservation  and  dissemination,  no  min- 
ister of  Christ  has  any  right  to  be  inactive  or  neu- 
tral in  reference  to  Christian  missions,  the  only  agency 
by  which  the  Church  can  possibly  fulfill  her  great 
commission.  Where  ministers  are  indifferent  it  can 
not  be  expected  that  the  people  will  be  active  or  sym- 
pathetic, but  the  greatest  indifference  on  the  part  of 
the  people  may  be  expected  to  yield  to  a  lively  interest 
cherished  in  the  heart,  and  expressed  by  the  lips  of 
their  spiritual  teachers.  On  any  congregation  where 
less  than  this  is  done  by  the  pastor,  a  positive  wrong 
is  inflicted,  since  practical  co-operation  with  appropri- 
ate efforts  to  evangelize  the  world  is  a  high  Christian 
privilege. 

If  the  question  be  asked.  How  is  a  pastor  to  do  his 
full  duty  in  behalf  of  Foreign  missions  "^  the  answer 
will  need  to  be  given  in  several  particulars. 

(i.)  He  should  begin  with  himself  and  cultivate  in 
his  own  heart  ardent  desires  for  the  salvation  not  only 
of  his  countrymen,  but  of  his  fellow-beings  through- 


5  1 2  FAITHFULNESS. 

out  the  world.  Among  the  means  of  this  truly  Chris- 
tian cultivation  may  be  mentioned  a  systematic  read- 
ing of  the  annals  of  missionary  effort,  and  a  thorough 
study  of  its  past  results  in  comparison  with  its  pres- 
ent progress  and  future  prospects.  The  pastor  should 
not  only  know  what  is  transpiring  with  the  various 
mission  fields  throughout  the  earth,  but  should  accus- 
tom himself  to  habitual  prayer,  both  in  private  and  in 
public,  for  the  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom  into  all 
hearts  and  its  establishment  among  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth. 

(2.)  He  should  systematically  and  frequently  com- 
municate the  most  important  items  of  missionary  his- 
tory and  current  intelligence  to  the  members  of  his 
flock,  and  seek  to  arouse  among  them  active  sympathy 
and  practical  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  heathen. 

(3.)  He  should  by  preaching,  by  conversation,  by  the 
distribution  of  printed  matter,  by  his  own  example  of 
liberality,  and  by  all  other  legitimate  means,  seek  to 
enlist  the  Church  in  the  support  of  Christian  missions. 
The  primary  necessity  of  every  missionary  society  is 
a  supply  of  current  funds  with  which  to  send  out 
missionaries,  and  support  those  who  are  in  the  field. 
Unless  this  be  secured,  missionaries  have  to  be 
withdrawn  and  the  most  promising  fields  abandoned. 
Hence  liberal  and  systematic  giving  is  to  be  every- 
where encouraged,  and  even  stimulated,  in  opposition 
to  prevailing  worldliness  and  love  of  money.  But  the 
giving  of  money  is  not  all.  Life  and  labor  must  be 
consecrated  to  this  great  agency  of  salvation  for  lost 
men.  Hence  parents  should  consecrate  their  children 
to  this  work,  and  educate  them  in  view  of  it  so  that 


UNITY  OF  HOME  AND  FOREIGN  WORK.        513 

if  it  should  please  God  to  call  them  to  the  high  honor 
of  evangelizing  the  heathen,  they  may  be  thoroughly 
furnished  for  the  task.  Persons  of  suitable  age  and 
Christian  character  should  also  be  exhorted  and  en- 
couraged to  give  themselves  to  this  most  noble  en- 
terprise. Those  moreover  who  have  means  not  yet 
available  should  be  advised  to  make  legacies  to  this 
and  similar  objects  through  which  their  influence  will 
live  after  them,  and  be  acting  in  behalf  of  truth  and 
holiness  when  they  will  have  gone  to  their  final  ac- 
count. 

In  connection  with  these  duties  it  is  all  important 
to  encourage  the  habit  of  constant  and  fervent  prayer 
for  the  great  object  we  seek  to  promote.  The  Savior 
himself  taught  his  disciples  to  pray  for  the  coming  of 
his  kingdom  and  the  doing  of  his  will  upon  earth, 
even  prior  to  asking  for  their  daily  bread.  Christians 
should  therefore  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  the 
cause  of  missions  is  the  cause  of  God,  and  that  while 
they  are  permitted  to  toil  for  its  promotion,  success 
must  be  the  divine  gift.  Success  in  this  work,  how- 
ever, is  an  object  for  which  prayer  is  appointed,  and 
is  specially  appropriate.  In  offering  it  the  Church  as- 
sumes the  duty  enjoined  upon  her  long  ages  ago  in 
connection  with  the  glorious  promise  given  to  her  in 
the  name  of  her  Divine  Head.  "  Ask  of  me  and  I 
shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession." 

(4.)  Pastors  should  not  merely  act  in  behalf  of  this 
cause  on  their  own  judgment,  but  in  harmony  with  the 
systems  and  the  agencies  appointed  by  the  Church  of 
which  they  form  a  part.     Only  in  union  on  a  large  scale 


514  MORAL  GRANDEUR  OF  THE  WHOLE. 

can  there  be  power  to  sustain  effective  and  far-reach- 
ing missionary  enterprises,  but  by  means  of  united  lib- 
erality and  persevering  effort  on  the  part  of  pastors  and 
people  throughout  an  extensive  and  growing  Church, 
missionary  zeal,  activity,  and  success  may  be  made 
correspondent  to  each  other  in  ever-widening  circles 
which  will  ultimately  reach  to  earth's  remotest  bounds. 
The  most  groundless  of  all  fears  are  those  which 
would  restrain  a  pastor  or  a  Church  from  putting 
forth  the  largest  liberality  in  behalf  of  foreign  missions 
lest  home  interests  should  suffer  in  consequence. 
Demonstrations  are  innumerable  that  a  faithful  and 
self-denying  discharge  of  Christian  duty  to  the  heathen 
world,  not  only  reacts  favorably  upon  the  piety,  the 
activity,  and  the  faith  of  Churches  in  Christian  lands, 
but  is  attended  with  what  can  not  otherwise  be  at- 
tained or  consistently  expected — that  blessing  of  the 
Lord  which  maketh  rich,  and  to  which  he  addeth  no 
sorrow  or  disadvantage.  Besides,  this  world-wide 
sympathy  and  far-reaching  effort  are  important  to 
success  in  the  ordinary  work  of  the  ministry.  No 
pastor  can  be  really  true  to  his  own  position  who  does 
not  regard  himself  and  his  work  as  a  part  of  God's 
great  agency  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  No  min- 
istry can  be  powerful  or  sublime  that  does  not  rise  to 
the  grandeur  of  this  conception,  and  no  ministry  can 
lack  sublimity  and  high  moral  power  when  the  min- 
ister bears  upon  his  heart  the  burden  of  the  world, 
coupled  with  just  conceptions  of  the  eternity  to  which 
all  earth's  inhabitants  are  hastening. 


CHRISTIANITY  ED  UCA  TIONAL.  5 1 5 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  PASTOR  IN  HIS  RELATIONS  TO  EDUCATION.  THE 
PRESS,  AND    THE   COUNTRY. 


A 


LL  the  best  schools  and  school  systems  of  mod- 
-  ern  times  are  an  outgrowth  of  Christianity. 
Whether  inquiry  be  made  into  the  history  of  Euro- 
pean universities  or  that  of  the  colleges,  academies, 
and  free  schools  of  the  United  States  of  America,  it 
will  be  found  that  with  scarcely  an  exception  they  all 
owe  their  origin  to  Christian  men — in  many  cases  to 
Christian  ministers.  Especially  has  our  own  country 
been  benefited  by  the  early  foundation  and  liberal 
support  of  educational  institutions  under  Christian 
auspices.  Harvard  College  was  founded  by  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers  in  1638,  only  eighteen  years  after  their 
first  landing  at  Plymouth  Rock.  Yale  College  had 
its  inception  in  1700,  when  several  ministers  marked 
the  opening  of  the  new  century  by  bringing  together 
a  selection  of  books  from  their  private  libraries,  say- 
ing, "These  books  we  give  for  the  founding  of  a  col- 
lege in  Connecticut."  After  the  establishment  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  the  early 
ministers  of  that  Church,  with  equal  promptness,  in- 
augurated educational  movements  which  have  since 
spread,  with  great  efficiency,  over  the  entire  country. 
So    the   various    Christian    Churches   in  the  various 


5  1 6  DUTIES  TO  PARENTS  AND  CHILDREN 

States  of  the  republic  have  put  forth  voluntary  and 
efficient  exertions  for  the  founding  and  support  of 
more  than  two  hundred  colleges  and  a  far  greater 
number  of  academies,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
members  of  those  Churches  have  cheerfully  borne 
their  full  proportion  of  taxation  for  the  establishment 
and  support  of  the  public  schools  of  the  country.  In 
fact,  the  whole  public  school  system  of  the  United 
States  owes  its  origin  and,  in  a  large  degree,  its  suc- 
cess, to  the  favorable  sentiment  created  and  sustained 
by  the  Christian  Churches  and  people  in  behalf  of 
general  and  liberal  culture.  In  order  properly  to  sus- 
tain and  worthily  to  perpetuate  influence  of  so  great 
value,  Christian  ministers  of  the  present  and  of  the 
future  should  cherish  a  lively  interest  in  education, 
and  manifest  it  in  all  appropriate  ways,  and  not  to  do 
so  will  be  to  forfeit  many  opportunities^  of  enlarging 
their  influence  and  usefulness. 

Among  the  modes  of  favorably  influencing  the  ed- 
ucational agencies  by  which  they  are  surrounded, 
and  of  enabling  young  persons  of  their  acquaintance 
to  profit  by  them  in  the  largest  degree,  the  following 
may  be  suggested: 

1.  Pastors  should  accustom  themselves  to  visit  the 
schools  of  their  vicinity,  and  to  speak  words  of  coun- 
sel and  encouragement  both  to  teachers  and  scholars. 
The  latter  belong,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  to  their 
flock,  and  have  a  right  to  claim  such  attentions.  The 
former  usually  appreciate  the  co-operation  derived 
from  friendly  visits  of  that  character,  and  thus  double 
good  is  easily  accomplished. 

2.  They  should   encourage  and  exhort  parents  to 


FAVOR  TOWARD  GOOD  INSTITUTIONS.  517 

educate  their  children  and  youth  to  acquire  knowl- 
edge, self-discipline,  and  qualifications  for  usefulness. 
No  class  of  persons  more  frequently  have  it  in  their 
power  to  arouse  dormant  intellect  or  to  induce  young 
persons  to  commence  a  career  of  study  and  self- 
development  than  pastors,  and  when  this  is  done 
none  are  more  gratefully  remembered  by  the  subjects 
of  their  influence  through  all  subsequent  life. 

3.  They  should  aid  their  people  to  discriminate  in 
favor  of  those  educational  institutions  in  which  direct 
Christian  influences  are  exerted.  For  the  accom- 
plishment of  their  duty  in  the  two  respects  last  men- 
tioned, pastors  have  more  or  less  opportunity  in  the 
course  of  their  pastoral  visits,  and  in  private  conver- 
sations. But  they  are  also  at  liberty  to  use  the  pul- 
pit for  these  objects.  Indeed,  it  is  made  the  special 
duty  of  *'  each  preacher  in  charge  "  of  the  JVIethodist 
Episcopal  Church  "  to  preach  on  the  subject  of  educa- 
tion once  a  year,  and  to  diffuse  information  in  respect 
to  it  by  the  distribution  of  tracts  or  otherwise."  It 
is  true  that  up  to  this  time  the  requisitions  of  the 
Discipline  in  reference  to  education  have  had  a  promi- 
nent reference  to  the  foundation  and  endowment  of 
institutions  for  the  higher  education  of  our  youth. 
But  it  is  also  true  that  it  is  an  equal  desideratum  to 
induce  our  youth  in  far  greater  numbers  to  profit  as 
extensively  as  possible  by  the  institutions  and  en- 
dowments already  provided  for.  This  can  not  be  done 
without  the  personal  and  official  co-operation  of  pas- 
tors. Many  persons  fail  to  consider  properly  the 
responsibility  of  selecting  the  right  institutions  and 
instruction  for  their  children.     They  make  their  choice 


5t8  pastors  and  the  press. 

a  matter  of  accident  or  mere  temporary  convenience, 
whereas  their  children  are  to  receive  but  one  ed- 
ucation for  life,  and  upon  that  education  their  happi- 
ness, their  character,  their  future  position  in  society, 
and  their  welfare  in  the  world  to  come,  will  necessarily, 
in  a  great  degree,  depend.  Indifference  to  this  sub- 
ject, on  the  part  of  pastors,  encourages  indifference 
among  the  people,  whereas  an  affectionate  pastoral 
anxiety,  coupled  with  intelligent  advice,  can  not  fail 
to  enlarge  the  views  of  parents  in  reference  to  educa- 
tion under  the  best  auspices,  and  influence  their  con- 
clusions. If,  by  such  means,  the  children  and  youth 
of  our  charges  were  induced  to  profit  by  the  pro- 
visions the  Church  has  made  for  their  advanced  and 
thorough  education,  great  good  would  be  accom- 
plished and  a  greatly  increased  amount  of  talent 
enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church. 

In  this  age  of  printing  and  reading,  ministers 
should  not  be  content  without  wielding,  as  far  as 
practicable,  the  influence  of  the  press  in  behalf  of  the 
great  object  of  their  lives.  While  this  should  not  be 
attempted  to  the  detriment  of  their  primary  and  higher 
calling,  ways  may  often  be  found  in  which  it  can  be 
done  in  harmony  with  that,  and  sometimes  in  subservi- 
ence to  it.  The  newspaper  is  usually  the  door  of 
entrance  into  the  field  of  authorship,  and  there  are 
many  occasions  in  which  pastors  may  avail  themselves 
of  the  secular  and  religious  newspapers  of  the  day  as 
a  means  of  communication  with  the  public  on  appro- 
priate topics.  Here  let  a  caution  be  uttered  against 
ministers  allowing  themselves  to  write  on  trivial  sub- 


MOTIVES  FOR  WRITING.  519 

jects  as  well  as  against  putting  themselves  in  print 
inopportunely  or  too  often.  The  reputation  of  a  scrib- 
bler is  not  enviable,  and  it  is  better  to  publish  nothing 
than  to  expose  one's  self  to  ridicule  or  even  to  the  low 
estimation  of  his  readers.  What  the  pastor  writes, 
therefore,  for  the  public,  should  be  well  and  carefully 
written,  even  though  it  be  but  a  paragraph,  an  inci- 
dent, or  a  letter  of  correspondence.  Perhaps  the  best 
safeguard  against  possible  errors  in  this  matter  is  close 
attention  to  the  motives  by  which  one  is  prompted  to 
write.  If  a  desire  for  notoriety  is  found  at  the  bot- 
tom, it  had  better  be  summarily  repressed.  If,  how- 
ever, a  single  eye  to  the  divine  glory  and  pure  motives 
to  do  good  predominate,  the  minister  is  in  no  more 
danger  of  being  too  diligent  with  his  pen  than  with 
his  tongue  in  setting  forth  sound  doctrine  and  whole- 
some precepts.  The  fact  that  some  men  may  have 
been  ostentatious  in  the  line  of  authorship  is  a  poor 
excuse  for  the  indolence  of  many  others  who  have 
made  no  effort  to  do  good  through  the  agency  of  the 
press.  In  order  to  comprehend  this  subject  justly,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  as  yet,  there  is  no  re- 
dundance of  good  reading  in  the  world.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  danger  of  bad  books  and  exceptionable 
reading  gaining  a  predominance.  It  may  be  unhesi- 
tatingly said,  that  for  Sunday-school  libraries  and  for 
youth,  there  is,  and  there  seems  likely  to  continue  to 
be,  a  constant  demand  for  books  of  a  superior  charac- 
ter, and  of  a  strict  adaptation  to  the  objects  of  Chris- 
tian influence  and  instruction.  Now,  this  object  is  in 
strict  harmony  with  the  design  of  preaching  and  of 
pastoral  labor.     Hence,  the  effort  on  the  part   of  a 


520  DOUBLE  USE  OF  MATTER. 

minister  to  produce  one  or  more  superior  Sunday- 
school  books  would  be,  in  itself,  commendable,  even 
though  it  might  fail  to  succeed.  Nevertheless,  it 
will  be  more  likely ~^to  succeed  if  time  and  patience 
are  employed  with  steady  reference  to  the  object 
named,  than  if  the  writer  becomes  over-anxious  to 
appear  in  print  or  to  secure  pecuniary  returns  from 
this  branch  of  his  labor.  The  truth  is  that  book- 
making  is  too  much  given  up  to  professional  book- 
makers or  to  persons  who  resort  to  it  merely  as  a 
means  of  support  or  emolument,  and  who,  conse- 
quently, are  in  danger  of  becoming  careless  or  un- 
scrupulous in  what  they  write.  For  this  evil,  what 
more  appropriate  remedy  could  there  be  than  to  have 
some  hundreds  of  pastors  who  know  what  youth  and 
children  need,  in  the  way  of  good  books,  engaged  in 
preparing  such  books  in  subordination  to  their  other 
duties  1  It  would  probably  be  all  the  better  for  them, 
for  the  books  they  might  produce,  and  for  the  public, 
if  they  would  be  content  to  take  ample  time  to  col- 
lect and  express  their  best  thoughts  in  the  best  lan- 
guage, and  thus  produce  an  agency  of  lasting  good, 
rather  than  to  add  to  the  list  of  ephemeral  publica- 
tions, of  which  there  are  already  too  many  in  existence. 
The  principle  which  has  thus  been  illustrated  with 
reference  to  Sunday-school  books  has  an  obvious  ap- 
plication to  tracts,  tract  volumes,  and  various  other 
forms  of  Christian  literature,  inclusive  of  reviews  of 
books,  and  essays  on  suitable  topics.  Such  literary 
.labors  as  have  been  suggested,  so  far  from  detract- 
ing from  thoroughness  in  preparation  for  the  pulpit, 
may  by  proper  combinations  be  made  tributary  to  it. 


PO WER  INCREASED  BY  A CTIVITY.  5 2 1 

Efforts  are  usually  proportioned  to  the  motives 
which  prompt  them.  Hence  a  minister  will  be  cer- 
tain to  expend  more  labor  and  thought  upon  a  sermon 
which  he  expects  both  to  deliver  and  to  print  than  if 
he  contemplates  no  second  use  of  it  or  its  material. 
So  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  a  sermon  in  its 
printed  form  has  a  far  wider  audience  than  when  de- 
livered from  the  pulpit.  But  the  results  of  pulpit 
preparations  may  not  only  be  published  in  the  form 
of  sermons,  but,  with  suitable  modifications,  in  various 
other  forms,  and  be  actually  better  than  if  written  for 
publication  only.  Thus  the  matter  of  a  good  Sun- 
day-school book  may  be  first  tested  in  a  course  of 
lectures  or  sermons  to  children,  or  addresses  to  a  Sun- 
day-school. Some  of  the  best  books  ever  written  by 
ministers  are  those  of  which  the  matter  has  had  a 
double  use,  after  the  analogy  here  indicated.  Some 
may  object  that  to  print  their  best  thoughts  will  be  to 
reduce  their  material  available  for  future  use  in  the 
pulpit.  If  their  thoughts  are  limited  to  a  given  form 
and  number,  the  objection  may  be  valid.  If,  however,^ 
in  accordance  with  the  general  laws  of  mind,  the  free 
and  public  use  of  good  thoughts  only  makes  it  easier 
to  produce  more  and  better  thoughts,  then  they  may 
gladly  commit  themselves  to  a  course  which  is  adapted 
to  increase  their  mental  power,  and  render  them  more 
and  more  capable  of  meeting  every  future  emergency. 
A  clergyman  is  certainly  to  be  pitied  who  feels  the 
necessity  of  garnering  up  every  choice  paragraph  or 
sermon  he  may  have  prepared  as  so  much  stock  in 
trade,  whereas  he  who  freely  uses  the  best  he  can 
attain  at  any  given  time,  in  the  confidence  that  with 

44 


522  POLITICAL  RELA  TIONS  AND  D UTIES. 

equal  diligence  he  can  produce  what  is  as  good,  or 
better,  at  the  next  requirement,  is  the  man  whose 
thoughts  will  be  always  fresh,  and  whose  power  will 
be  always  growing.  '  Thus  it  is  that  a  judicious  em- 
ployment of  the  press  as  an  auxiliary  of  ministerial 
labor  may  actually  improve  one's  style  of  thought  and 
of  language  for  effective  pulpit  address,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  is  extending  the  area  of  his  usefulness. 

In  the  United  States  of  America  Christian  minis- 
ters are  simply  recognized  as  citizens,  and  those  of 
them  who  are  wise  cheerfully  bear  their  share  of  the 
burdens  of  civil  life,  as  a  just  equivalent  for  the  guar- 
anteed privileges  of  citizenship.  Public  opinion,  how- 
ever, accords  to  them  a  sphere  of  life  aloof  from  political 
partisanship,  and  superior  to  the  petty  strifes  insep- 
arable from  free  popular  elections. 

While,  therefore,  it  is  possible  for  a  clergyman  to 
become  a  candidate  for  political  preferment,  yet  in  so 
doing,  if  he. does  not  lower  his  own  sense  of  self-re- 
spect, he  is  sure  to  shock  that  general  sense  of  pro- 
priety which  is  cherished  in  common  by  intelligent 
persons,  both  within  and  without  the  pale  of  Christian 
Churches. 

Nevertheless,  every  minister  of  the  gospel  should 
be  a  true  patriot,  and  from  the  vantage-ground  he 
occupies  he  may  expect  to  do  as  much  as  any  other 
man,  or  the  representative  of  any  other  class  of  men, 
for  the  well-being  of  society  and  the  true  prosper- 
ity of  his  country.  It  is  not  necessary  for  him  to 
be  destitute  of  political  opinions,  or  to  refrain  from 
using  the  ballot.  Indeed,  he  should  never  fail  to  vote 
when  moral  questions  are  at  issue.     More  than  this 


RESPONSIBILITIES  AND  EXAMPLE.  523 

when  great  questions  relating  to  public  morals  and 
the  rights  of  men  are  agitated  he  is  under  obligation 
to  do  what  he  can  to  enlighten  the  public  mind  and 
arouse  the  public  conscience.  If  his  established  char- 
acter be  that  of  high  moral  independence,  and  espe- 
cially of  superiority  to  mere  partisanship,  his  words  at 
such  crises  will  be  heard  with  respect,  and  have  weight 
with  candid  men  of  all  parties.  This  is  a  point,  how- 
ever, at  which  the  highest  discretion  is  required,  since 
in  every  congregation  different  parties  are  usually  rep- 
resented by  persons  holding  a  common  relation  to  the 
pastor,  and  to  whom  he  owes  a  common  obligation  of 
respect  and  duty.  While  in  times  of  high  party  feel- 
ing, prejudices  are  easily  excited,  and  the  pastor's  posi- 
tion is  not  free  from  grave  embarrassments,  yet  a 
supreme  and  intelligent  regard  for  right,  and  a  con- 
scientious adherence  to  Christian  principle,  will  usu- 
ally command  respect  and  secure  influence.  But  even 
though  in  some  cases  they  should  fail  in  these  results, 
they  will  always  secure  for  their  possessor  the  happy 
consciousness  of  having  maintained  a  position  worthy 
of  his  responsibilities,  and  given  an  example  that  will 
bear  the  test  of  time,  and  contribute  his  quota  of  in- 
fluence to  the  welfare  of  society  and  of  the  nation  in 
which  he  dwells. 


524  CHURCH  EDIFICES, 


CHAPTER   XXL 

THE  PASTOR'S   RELATIONS   TO  CHURCH  BUILDING 
AND   CHURCH   EXTENSION. 

WHEREVER  Christianity  seeks  to  become  per- 
manent, church  edifices  are  a  necessity.  With- 
out places  of  worship  no  community  permanently 
hallows  the  Lord's  day,  and  no  minister  of  the  gospel 
can  secure  regular  access  to  the  people  to  whom  he 
would  deliver  the  divine  message.  It  is  the  privilege 
of  most  pastors  of  the  present  day  to  enter  upon  the 
labors  of  predecessors,  through  whose  instrumentality 
Christian  lands  have  been  extensively  occupied  with 
sanctuaries  in  which  the  word  of  God  may  be  preached, 
and  the  sacred  ordinances  administered.  While  this 
advantage  ought  to  be  regarded  with  grateful  apprecia- 
tion, it  by  no  means  excuses  pastors,  thus  favored,  from 
a  full  share  of  responsibility  in  reference  to  the  gen- 
eral enterprise  of  church  building.  In  some  places  new 
Churches  are  to  be  founded.  In  many  places  new 
churches  need  to  be  built,  and  in  all  places  wise  meas- 
ures need  to  be  incepted  and  prosecuted,  having  refer- 
ence to  the  location  and  erection  of  churches  in  the 
future.  It  is  a  happy  result  of  the  voluntary  system  of 
Church  support  as  practiced  in  America,  that  church 
building  has  become  universally  popular.  Church  edifi- 
ces are  every -where  regarded  as  a  necessity  to  the  re- 


PASTORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  525 

spectability  and  moral  welfare  of  communities.  Hence, 
not  merely  Church  members,  but  citizens  generally  ex- 
pect to  contribute  for  the  erection  of  places  of  worship 
at  all  centers  of  population.  In  many  places  the  chief 
thing  necessary  to  secure  a  good  church  is  timely  and 
intelligent  leadership  to  plan  and  prompt  the  enter- 
prise. It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  no  other  country  in 
the  world  were  there  ever  so  many  and  so  good 
churches  built  in  an  equal  period  of  time  as  in  the 
United  States  of  America  since  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Yet  it  is  highly  probable  that 
still  more  and  better  churches  will  be  constructed 
during  the  next  seventy  years.  All  these  considera- 
tions show  that  pastoral  responsibility  extends  to  this 
department  of  Christian  effort.  It  must  be  conceded 
that  oftentimes  quite  too  much  of  material  care  and 
labor  has  been  thrown  upon  ministers  in  securing 
the  erection  of  churches.  The  design  of  this  chapter, 
therefore,  is  not  less  to  plead  that  pastors  be  relieved 
from  what  does  not  belong  to  them  than  to  point  out 
what  is  legitimately  within  the  range  of  their  duties. 
Unless  in  cases  of  extreme  peculiarity  or  necessity,  it 
is  wrong  for  Church  members  to  require  or  expect 
that  their  pastors  bear  the  burden  of  securing  and 
collecting  subscriptions,  or  of  contracting  for  materials 
and  work.  Yet,  in  some  emergencies  self-sacrificing 
pastors  have  found  it  necessary  to  do  much  more  than 
that,  even  to  the  extent  of  working  with  their  own 
hands  as  a  means  of  securing  the  erection  of  churches. 
In  ordinary  cases,  it  is  not  only  practicable,  but  far 
better  to  enlist  competent  laymen,  accustomed  to 
business,  who  will,  advantageously  to  themselves  and 


5 26  CHURCH  ARCHITECTURE. 

to  the  enterprise,  relieve  the  pastor  of  secular  cares 
in  the  matter  of  church  building.  Even  then,  he  will 
have  enough  to  do.  Let  it  now  be  considered  what 
justly  belongs  to  pastoral  responsibility  in  reference 
to  the  enterprise  of  erecting  churches. 

1.  A  pastor  should  be  capable  of  giving  counsels 
as  to  the  time  of  commencing  and  the  mode  of  con- 
ducting efforts  for  the  erection  of  a  new  church. 

2.  It  is  specially  within  his  province  when,  by  suit- 
able deliberations,  just  conclusions  are  reached  in 
reference  to  an  enterprise  of  this  kind,  to  aid  in  uni- 
fying public  opinion  in  its  favor,  and  in  promoting  the 
spirit  of  liberality  in  its  support. 

3.  A  pastor  should  be  able  to  exert  a  judicious  in- 
fluence upon  the  plans  and  architecture  of  an  edifice 
in  which  not  only  his  convenience,  but  his  usefulness 
and  that  of  his  successors  in  office,  will  be  directly 
involved.  In  order  to  this  he  must  'be  an  intelligent 
student,  observer,  and  judge  of  church  architecture. 
He  must  at  least  know  what  is  necessary  for  Church 
purposes  of  all  kinds,  and,  if  possible,  have  a  cultivated 
taste  in  reference  to  position,  proportions,  and  the 
various  styles  of  construction.  With  all  this  he  should 
neither  affect  the  architect  nor  assume  the  responsi- 
bilities belonging  to  one.  In  the  building  of  good 
churches  the  services  of  a  competent  architect  are  in 
the  highest  degree  desirable,  if  not  indispensable. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  his  duty  to  execute  the  wishes  of  a 
pastor  and  a  Church  rather  than  to  prescribe  what 
they  shall  build.  Architecture,  for  the  sake  of  appear- 
ance, is  proverbially  expensive,  and  it  has  been  said 
of  architects  as  of  fire,  that  while  most  useful  servants 


SITES  FOR   CHURCHES.  527 

they  are  bad  masters.  The  problem  in  reference  to 
their  employment  is  to  bring  their  best  taste  and 
highest  skill  to  the  aid  of  convenience  and  under  the 
restraint  of  economy. 

4.  As  church  building  involves  not  only  time  and 
labor,  but  also  money  in  large  amounts,  it  becomes  a 
pastor  to  exert  a  wholesome  influence  in  preventing 
debts,  if  possible,  and  in  securing  their  liquidation 
when  incurred.  While,  therefore,  as  a  precautionary 
measure,  he  should  be  on  the  alert  against  every 
species  of  extravagance  in  construction  or  ornamenta- 
tion, he  should  be  none  the  less  careful  to  enable  the 
Church,  if  by  any  means  in  his  power,  to  preserve  its 
honor  and  integrity  by  the  prompt  payment  of  all  its 
liabiUties. 

5.  When  sites  are  to  be  acquired  for  churches  or 
church  property,  pastors  should  take  measures  to  have 
good  locations  secured  and  proper  titles  acquired  in 
joint  conformity  with  the  requirements  of  civil  law 
and  Church  discipline.  For  lack  of  precaution  in  this 
matter,  serious  loss  and  worse  embarrassment  have 
sometimes  occurred.  Therefore,  whoever  may  neglect 
attention  to  it  in  future,  ministers  should  not.  Church 
members  and  trustees,  in  any  given  charge,  rarely 
have  more  than  one  experience  in  actual  church  build- 
ing. A  pastor  is  likely  to  have  many  such  experiences, 
and  hence  should  be  prepared  in  advance,  in  reference 
to  all  the  important  points  at  issue.  Ke  especially 
should  practice  a  wise  forecast  in  securing  sites  for 
churches  to  be  built  in  coming  years.  Timely  applica- 
tion, sustained  by  efforts  easily  practicable,  will  often 
secure  the  donation  or  the  purchase,  at  slight  cost,  of 


528         CHRISTIAN  CHURCHES  MONUMENTAL. 

valuable  sites  which  subsequently  can  only  be  procured 
with  great  difficulty  and  expense.  This  is  equally 
true  in  towns  just  located,  and  in  the  suburbs  of 
large  cities.  Great  interests  of  the  Christian  Church 
in  this  country  in  particular,  depend  on  the  wise  and 
timely  action  of  pastors  in  this  one  matter  of  lo- 
cating churches  and  holding  the  sites  by  means  of 
Sunday-school  buildings,  chapels,  or  otherwise,  until 
congregations  can  be  gathered  and  churches  erected. 

Church  building  is  an  enterprise  of  broad  extent 
and  permanent  interest.  The  edifices  erected  for  re- 
ligious uses  in  any  country  at  any  given  period  are 
monumental  of  the  ideas  prevailing  among  Christians 
then  and  there.  Thus  the  vast  cathedrals  of  Europe 
were  constructed  at  extravagant  cost,  in  adaptation  to 
the  pomp  of  ceremonious  worship.  Also,  the  abbeys 
and  monasteries  of  Roman  Catholic  countries  em- 
body the  monastic  ideas  which  they  were  expected 
to  enthrone  and  perpetuate.  In  contrast  with  such 
edifices,  the  plain  and  cheap  structures  erected  in  this 
country  as  the  initial  houses  of  worship,  marked  the 
comparative  poverty  and  yet  the  earnest  religious 
purposes  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  new  and  open- 
ing country,  whereas  the  elegant  and  commodious 
churches  now  erected  and  being  erected  all  over  the 
American  continent,  not  only  show  great  increase  in 
the  wealth  of  the  people,  but  that  large  portions  of 
that  wealth  are  consecrated  to  the  honor  of  God  and 
the  welfare  of  humanity. 

When  American  churches  of  the  most  approved 
kind  are  compared  with  those  of  other  countries,  it  is 
found  that  while  less  attention  has  been  paid  to  mass- 


SACRED    USES   OF  A    CHURCH.  529 

iveness  of  structure  and  grandeur  of  proportions,  yet 
a  degree  of  elegance  has  been  attained  worthy  of  the 
best  periods  of  architecture.  What  is  still  more  to 
be  valued,  this  elegance  has  been  combined  with  an 
amount  of  convenience  and  adaptation  to  practical 
purposes  never  before  known  in  any  country.  Thus 
it  is  that  the  material  progress  and  the  mechanical 
inventions  of  modern  times  are  made  subservient  to 
the  interests  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  therefore 
becomes  important  for  pastors  to  know  what  real  im- 
provements are,  and  to  take  the  necessary  measures 
to  have  them  secured  in  Church  enterprises  originat- 
ing or  being  prosecuted  under  their  administration. 
It  is  scarcely  possible  to  overestimate  the  sacredness 
and  importance  of  the  interests  involved  in  the  erec- 
tion of  even  a  single  church  edifice.  A  Christian 
church  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  temple  of  the  living 
God,  designed  to  stand  as  a  permanent  and  visible 
witness  to  the  claims  and  authority  of  the  unseen  but 
ever-present  Creator.  As  a  place  of  worship  it  will 
invite  present  and  future  generations  to  acts  of  prayer 
and  praise,  in  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  be  in 
the  midst  of  those  who  are  gathered  in  his  name,  and 
the  blessed  Comforter  will 

"Come  down  their  souls  to  greet, 
While  glory  crowns  the  mercy-seat." 

As  a  place  of  instruction  it  will  afford  opportunities 
for  old  and  young  to  study  the  law  of  the  Lord  and 
to  hear  the  word  of  his  grace  as  proclaimed  in  the 
glorious  gospel.  As  a  sanctuary  it  will  be  the  scene 
of  successive  commemorations  of  the  Lord's  death  and 
of  the  admission  of  members  to  the  Church  of  Christ 

45 


530  CHURCH  EXTENSION. 

through  the  ordinance  of  baptism. '  In  scenes  of 
mourning  it  will  be  the  house  of  consolation  to  the 
afflicted,  while  many  who  have  ended  the  pilgrimage 
of  life  will  be  borne  from  within  its  walls  to  their 
resting-place  in  the  grave.  But  highest  and  best  of 
all  distinctions,  it  may  attain  the  predicted  glory  of 
Zion,  so  that  in  its  history  it  may  be  said,  "  This  and 
that  man  was  born  in  her :  and  the  Highest  himself 
shall  establish  her.  The  Lord  shall  count,  when  he 
writeth  up  the  people,  that  this  man  was  born  there." 
Ps.  Ixxxvii,  5,  6.  Thus,  by  the  manifestations  of  his 
grace,  God  may  be  expected  to  glorify  the  house  of 
his  earthly  glory,  and  to  hallow  it  as  a  means  of 
preparation  for  an  everlasting  dwelhng-place  in  the 
"house  not  made  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens." 

In  addition  to  the  great  amount  of  local  church  build- 
ing that  requires  the  attention  of  pastors  in  commu- 
nities able  to  provide  for  their  own  religious  wants, 
church  extension  in  frontier  settlements  and  in  vari- 
ous communities  where  help  is  needed  has  come  to  be 
regarded  as  an  important  enterprise  of  general  Chris- 
tian benevolence.  In  behalf  of  this  enterprise,  as  well 
as  that  of  missions,  pastors  should  regard  it  as  both  a 
privilege  and  a  duty  to  act  by  encouraging  liberality  in 
their  congregations,  and  by  promoting  wherever  they 
can  large  donations  and  legacies.  By  enlightened  and 
co-operative  effort  of  this  kind  the  Churches  of  the 
present  day  may  not  only  promote  their  own  essen- 
tial welfare,  but  lay  broad  and  deep  foundations  for 
the  extension  and  establishment  of  Christianity  in 
generations  to  come. 

This,  however,  like  every  other  Christian  work,  should 


PERSEVERANCE,  53 1 

be  done,  not  through  the  prompting  of  denomina- 
tional rivalry  or  for  the  gratification  of  churchly  pride, 
but  with  an  eye  single  to  the  glory  of  God.  While  it 
may  be  conceded  that  church  edifices  properly  con- 
structed and  used  will  exert  an  important  aesthetic  and 
educational  influence  upon  individuals  and  communi- 
ties, yet  pastors  should  avoid  any  reliance  on  inter- 
mediate agencies  as  a  substitute  for  the  direct  influ- 
ence of  the  truth  and  spirit  of  God.  As  auxiliaries 
to  spiritual  worship  and  agencies  for  the  furtherance 
of  Christian  truth,  churches  are  of  the  highest  value, 
and  to  be  secured  by  all  reasonable  efforts,  yet  when 
by  any  deflection  from  the  theory  of  a  spiritual  Chris- 
tianity, such  agencies  come  to  take  the  place  of  divinely 
appointed  means  of  salvation,  they  become  a  curse 
rather  than  a  blessing,  ministering  to  profitless  forms 
and  ceremonies  rather  than  to  the  power  of  grace 
and  truth.  Hence  pastors  should  not  only  seek  to 
build  churches,  but  to  make  them  instrumentalities  of 
spiritual  good  to  all  who  come  within  their  influence. 

All  that  has  thus  been  said  in  reference  to  the 
building  of  churches  applies,  in  its  measure,  to  the 
corresponding  enterprise  of  erecting  and  furnishing 
parsonages,  which  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  important 
feature  of  the  system  of  itinerancy. 

Enough  has  already  been  accomplished  in  this 
enterprise  to  demonstrate  both  its  general  feasibility 
and  the  fact  that  if  generally  carried  out  the  chief 
inconveniences  of  the  itinerancy  would  be  obviated. 
The  responsibility,  therefore,  both  of  Churches  and 
pastors  for  timely  and  persevering  efforts  in  this 
department  will  be  evident  to  all  reflecting  minds. 


532  CHRISTIANITY  ASSOCIATIVE, 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   PASTOR'S   ECCLESIASTICAL   RELATIONS. 

WITH  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  different 
countries,  and  during  successive  ages,  various 
forms  of  Church  polity  have  been  developed.  It  is 
not  necessary  here  to  describe  them,  nor  to  discuss  in 
detail  their  respective  merits.  The  fact  is  apparent 
that  at  the  present  day  every  intending  pastor  must 
become  associated  with  some  system  of  Church  effort, 
or  depend  upon  his  own  exertions  to  found  a  Church 
and  maintain  a  congregation. 

This  latter  course  has  occasionally  succeeded  for  a 
time,  but  the  lesson  of  history  is  that  absolute  inde- 
pendency is  very  short-lived.  Those  theorists  who 
take  the  most  extreme  ground  in  its  favor,  soon  find 
that  a  lack  of  union  is  a  lack  of  power.  Hence 
even  they  usually  resort  to  some  form  of  association 
as  a  means  of  increasing  and  perpetuating  influ- 
ence. Otherwise  the  results  of  individual  effort  soon 
disappear.  Practical  Christianity  is  associative.  It 
demands  unity  of  action  as  well  for  the  good  of  indi- 
viduals as  of  the  Church.  But  as  the  efficiency  of 
united  action  is  subject  to  various  conditions,  such  as 
contiguity  of  residence,  harmony  of  views,  and  even 
the  magnitude  of  associations  themselves,  the  subdi- 


ELEMENTS  OF  CHURCH  PROSPERITY.  533 

vision  of  the  general  Church  into  branches  and  indi- 
vidual Churches,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  in  itself  an 
evil  any  more  than  the  subdivision  of  a  nation  into 
States,  and  of  communities  into  families,  or  of  an 
army  into  minor  organizations.  In  either  case  inhar- 
mony,  oppositions,  or  strifes  between  members  of  the 
same  body,  are  productive  of  great  evils.  That  such 
evils  have  often  prevailed,  and  do  now  exist  in  the 
Christian  Church,  can  not  be  denied.  Their  true 
remedy,  however,  is  to  be  found  in  a  more  devout 
allegiance  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  and  the 
general  prevalence  of  that  brotherly  love  which  is  the 
essential  characteristic  of  all  true  Christians,  rather 
than  in  any  prescribed  system  of  ecclesiastical  con- 
formity. 

While  different  doctrinal  opinions  have  their  in- 
fluence, both  upon  men  and  systems,  it  can  not  be 
doubted  that  the  different  systems  of  ecclesiastical 
economy  now  prevalent  in  Christian  Churches  corre- 
spond with  considerable  accuracy  to  certain  great 
classes  of  temperament  which  prevail  in  society.  How 
far,  therefore,  the  existence  of  different  Church  organ- 
izations within  the  pale  of  a  common  Christianity  is, 
from  time  to  time,  a  benefit  or  injury  to  the  common 
cause,  depends  upon  the  prevalence  or  absence  of  mu- 
tual conformity  to  the  mind  and  character  of  Christ  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  common  work.  No  extent  of 
nominal  unity,  from  which  the  spirit  of  love  and  labor 
is  wanting,  can  be  considered  advantageous,  and  no 
minuteness  of  subdivision  which  actually  contributes 
to  higher  mutual  regard  and  greater  freedom  and 
efficiency  of  action  can  be  regretted.     The  grand  and 


534  ^  PASTOR'S  OBLIGATIONS. 

perpetual  desideratum  is  unity  of  heart  and  hand  for 
the  accompUshment  of  the  cardinal  objects  of  the 
Christian  Church.  That  this  desiderat^im  is  possible 
of  attainment,  in  a  far  greater  degree  than  it  usually 
has  been  attained,  none  can  doubt,  and  for  this  ob- 
ject ministers  and  Churches  ought  every-where  to 
strive,  as  for  a  most  important  auxiliary  means  of  dif- 
fusing and  strengthening  the  kingdom  of  Christ  upon 
earth.  This  prevailing  purpose  will  have  a  whole- 
some influence  in  softening  asperities  that  have  been 
inherited  from  less  favored  times,  and  its  full  consum- 
mation will  leave  but  little  to  be  desired  as  to  out- 
ward agencies  for  promoting  Christianity  in  the  earth. 
When  universal  love  shall  prevail,  and  Christian  or- 
ganizations of  all  forms  shall  co-operate  fraternally  to 
promote  the  glory  of  a  common  Redeemer,  it  will  be 
found  that  external  variety  in  the  kingdom  of  grace 
need  be  no  more  out  of  harmony  with  essential  unity 
than  it  is  in  the  realm  of  nature. 

To  do  his  full  share  toward  bringing  about  so  de- 
sirable a  consummation  is  worthy  of  the  ambition  of 
every  Christian  pastor.  In  endeavoring  to  realize  it, 
as  well  as  in  seeking  to  do  the  most  "he  can  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners  and  the  edification  of  believers, 
it  will  be  proper  for  him  to  consider  suitably  the  eccle- 
siastical relations  he  proposes  to  form.  If  he  wishes 
to  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  subject,  he  may  inquire 
whether  he  can  hope  to  do  as  much  for  the  cause  of 
Christ  by  separation,  and  any  form  of  individual  ac- 
tion, as  by  union  with  some  organized  branch  of  the 
Church.  If  from  any  peculiarity  of  views  or  feelings 
he  should  deem  the  former  to  be  his  course  of  duty, 


CHURCH  RELATIONS   VOLUNTARY.  535 

and  should  therefore  undertake  to  add  another  to  ex- 
isting Church  organizations,  the  only  consistent  course 
he  can  adopt  will  be  to  recruit  his  hearers  and  co- 
laborers  exclusively  from  the  world,,  and  not  to  follow 
the  example  of  most  separatists  in  striving  to  detach 
members  from  Churches  already  formed,  and  thus 
further  divide  the  body  of  Christ.  If,  however,  he 
finds  it  most  consistent  with  his  religious  aims,  and 
most  congenial  with  his  Christian  sympathies  to  join 
his  efforts  with  those  of  Christians  already  organized 
and  efficiently  acting  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  Christ, 
he  should  do  so  intelligently,  and  upon  a  basis  of 
action  which  time  will  not  shake  nor  circumstances 
disturb. 

Some  men  inherit  their  ecclesiastical  relations  as 
they  do  their  names,  and  if  satisfied  with  their  por- 
tion as  that  of  a  goodly  inheritance,  they  may  be  con- 
tent with  their  lot.  Others  have  imposed  upon  them 
the  necessity  of  choice,  which,  whatever  may  have 
been  their  previous  views  or  predilections,  they  should 
at  a  proper  time  make  intelligently  and  for  life.  P'or, 
while  the  liberty  of  choice  in  this  matter  must  be 
freely  conceded,  changes  and  disruptions  of  relations 
once  established  are  of  more  than  doubtful  propriety. 
Indeed,  unless  based  upon  radical  changes  of  views,  or 
upon  the  practical  apostasy  of  the  Church  itself,  they 
are  to  be  discountenanced,  as  neither  friendly  to  per- 
sonal integrity  nor  promotive  of  general  good. 

Having  made  a  satisfactory  choice  of  ecclesiastical 
connections,  inclusive  of  Church  government  and  ad- 
ministration, a  minister  should  thenceforth  be  true  to 
the   system   he   adopts.     While  it  may  be  admitted 


536  THE   QUESTION  OF  SETTLEMENTS. 

that  every  system  has  some  peculiar  advantages,  it 
can  hardly  be  claimed  that  any  system  of  Church  ad- 
ministration is  free  from  disadvantages,  at  least  from 
burdens.  It  is,  therefore,  neither  honorable  nor  right 
to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  system  and  be  unwilling 
to  share  its  burdens.  Neither  is  it  manly  to  complain 
of  burdens  that  are  incident  to  great  advantages,  even 
though  more  obviously  of  a  general  than  of  a  personal 
character.  Without  further  remarks  of  a  general  bear- 
ing, it  will  now  be  assumed  that  many  of  the  readers 
of  this  volume  have  chosen  to  associate  themselves 
with  a  form  of  Church  polity  in  which  itiner- 

Itinerancy.  r  i  i  i  •      t 

ancy,  as  a  system  tor  the  regular  and  periodic 
distribution  of  ministerial  labor,  is  a  characteristic 
feature.  Reference  to  the  nature  and  advantages  of 
such  a  system  having  been  made  in  Chapter  viii,  and 
the  objection  that  such  a  system  is  fatal  to  pastoral 
duty  and  influence  having  been  refuted  in  Chapter  xvi, 
some  additional  views  of  the  subject  will  now  be  pre- 
sented. 

1.  While  the  system  of  ministerial  itinerancy  does 
not  claim  to  be  strictly  modeled  after  Scriptural  ex- 
ample, it,  nevertheless,  does  claim  to  be  in  harmony 
with  the  practice  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  among 
whom  the  idea  of  a  life-long  residence  in  any  one 
place  was  unknown. 

2.  yhe  itinerancy,  as  it  is  practiced  in  Methodist 
Churches  is  adapted  to  certain  general  character- 
istics of  humanity,  and  j especially  to  the  circum- 
stances of  modern  society.!  As  may  be  seen  from  the 
foregoing  allusion  to  apostolic  example,  the  common 
assumption  that  a  settled  ministry  is  the  normal  and 


CHANGES  DESIRABLE  FOR  MINISTERS.         537 

most  desirable  condition  of  ministerial  supply,  is  with- 
out foundation.  Nor  would  it  be  difficult  to  show 
that  attempts  to  establish  it  as  the  habit  of  Churches 
have  been  more  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  ease 
than  of  labor ;  of  personal  convenience  than  of  sacri- 
fice for  the  general  good.  Hence,  it  seems  not  harsh 
to  infer  that  it  has  been  a  hinderance  rather  than  a 
help  to  Christian  progress.  In  America,  where  it 
has  been  on  trial  apart  from  State  patronage,  it  has, 
in  a  comparatively  short  period,  become  nearly  obso- 
lete, having  fallen  into  practical  disuse  as  a  result  of 
its  own  operations. 

The  plan  of  permanent  ministerial  settlements  was 
introduced  into  this  country  by  the  Pilgrims  of  New 
England,  whose  descendants,  as  well  as  various  other 
denominations,  still  adhere  to  it  in  theory,  although  in 
practice  it  is  maintained  by  none  of  them,  except  in  a 
few  rare  cases.  The  following  statement,  recently 
published  by  an  advocate  of  long  settlements,  will  be 
recognized  as  a  truthful  exhibit  of  facts  known  to 
exist  in  the  class  of  denominations  he  represents  : 

"  People  are  gettinjr  used  to  the  transfer  of  pastors  from  one 
parish  to  another.  Fifty  years  ago,  when  a  minis-  The  parochial 
ter  was  installed,  it  was  considered  a  life-long  set-  relation-its in- 
tlement,  and  the  idea  of  change  was  about  as  stability, 
hazardous  as  for  a  farmer  to  sell  his  paternal  inheritance,  pull 
up  stakes,  and  go  to  the  West.  But  now  people  get  tired  of  the 
minister,  or  the  minister  gets  tired  of  them.  A  particular  friend 
of  the  pastor  says,  in  a  whisper,  to  another  of  his  friends,  'It 
seems  to  me  our  Church  would  flourish  more  by  a  different  style 
of  preaching  ;  do  n't  you  think  so  ?'  The  mere  suggestion  starts 
a  new  train  of  thought,  and  soon  there  are  a  good  many  whis- 
pers to  the  same  effect.  At  length  the  thing  gets  to  the  minis- 
ter's ears,  and  determines  him  to  send  in  his  resignation,  and 
cast  about  for  a  new  location.     The  parish  have  a  meeting  and 


538  DEMAND  FOR  VARIETY. 

reluctantly  accept  his  resignation,  pass  resolutions  of  high  com- 
mendation and  deep  regret,  and  then  proceed  to  look  out  for 
a  more  popular  man.  On  the  other  hand,  the  minister  some- 
times takes  the  vantage-ground  and  moves  first.  Parochial  life 
is  thus  fast  becoming  a  system  of  itinerancy,  so  that  what  the 
Methodists  have  done  from  policy  all  the  rest  have  done  from 
necessity." 

Thus  it  has  already  come  to  pass  that  the  average 
term  of  ministerial  service  in  Churches  theoretically 
in  favor  of  long  pastorates  is  actually  shorter  than  in 
Churches  which  prefer  pastorates  of  limited  but  regu- 
lar terms  of  duration.  This  state  of  things  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  mental  constitution  of  our  race. 
The  human  mind  becomes  wearied  and  enervated  with 
perpetual  sameness.  To  this  characteristic  of  human- 
ity, external  nature  is  adapted  in  the  ceaseless  alterna- 
tions of  day  and  night,  Spring,  Summer,  Autumn,  and 
Winter,  and  their  varying  phenomena.  But  not  wholly 
satisfied  with  these  periodic  changes,  all  persons  who 
can,  usually  seek  to  further  diversify  life  by  more  or 
less  frequent  changes  of  place  and  scene.  Hence,  the 
general  practice  and  the  universally  recognized  pleas- 
ures of  travel,  in  behalf  of  which  modern  inventive- 
ness and  enterprise  tax  themselves  to  the  utmost. 
The  phase  of  human  nature  under  consideration  has 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  moral  and  spiritual 
necessities  of  mankind,  corresponding  to  which  diver- 
sities of  gifts  are  employed  in  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try. It  is  not,  therefore,  to  be  expected  that  the 
highest  degree  of  moral  or  religious  interest  will  be 
secured  by  the  indefinite  continuance  of  any  one  min- 
ister in  any  particular  community.  No  one  then  need 
wonder  that  the  felt  wants  of  Churches  in  respect  to 


DRAWBACKS  TO  SETTLEMENTS.  539 

variety  of  ministerial  talent  rises  superior  to  theories 
and  demands  such  changes  in  pastoral  service  as 
promise  adaptation  to  the  varied  temperaments  and 
conditions  represented  in  nearly  all  communities. 
Nor  is  it  less  true,  although  less  generally  recognized, 
that  changes  of  scenes  and  circumstances  on  the  part 
of  ministers  are  essential  to  the  full  development  of 
ministerial  power  and  usefulness.  An  annual  vaca- 
tion or  an  occasional  trip  abroad  fail  to  answer  the 
requisition.  Although  somewhat  of  the  same  char- 
acter, they  are  more  in  the  line  of  diversion  than  of 
work  ;  whereas  men,  like  plants,  frequently  thrive  best 
after  transplantation.  The  principle  involved  was  neg- 
atively indicated  by  the  Savior  himself  when  he  said, 
"  a  prophet  is  not  without  honor  save  in  his  own 
country." 

Much  of  the  regret  expressed  in  some  quarters  at 
the  present  rarity  of  long  pastorates  is  quite  needless. 
In  former  times,  when  they  were  common,  Drawbacks  to 
length  was  frequently  their  chief  commen-  s«"^^"^^"*- 
dation.  Small  and  obscure  parishes  often  cramped 
and  dwarfed  fine  intellects,  while  large  and  important 
Churches  were  made  fD  bear  a  life-long  incubus  of 
mediocrity  at  least.  So  far  from  having  been  favora- 
ble to  thorough  study,  as  many  have  supposed,  these 
long  pastorates  often  produced  the  opposite  result. 
"  The  condition  itself  produced  a  routine,  tread-mill 
life.  Extensive  intercourse  with  the  world  was  want- 
ing. Week  in  and  week  out  the  mind  ground  divinity 
of  other  days.  There  was  little  fresh  importation  of 
life,  and  thought,  and  feeling,  from  without.  The  sur- 
roundings   underwent    little    change.     As    a   natural 


540  HARDSHIPS  OF  ITINERANCY. 

result  the  manners  became  stiff,  the  style  of  thought 
rigid,  the  sermons  and  lectures,  in  their  composition 
and  delivery,  without  emotion,  and  the  whole  Church 
service  was  a  form,  often  cold  and  dead." 

"  Hence,  it  is  neither  wonderful  nor  lamentable  that 
with  the  quickening  society  has  received  from  modern 
improvements,  by  which  life  and  energy  have  been 
carried  into  the  remotest  parts  of  the  land,  and  large 
masses  of  population  have  been  set  in  motion  hke  a 
tide  spreading  over  our  continent,  that  ministers  have 
found  it  necessary  to  move  also^  Whatever  the  local 
or  general  cause,  the  certainty  of  frequent  ministerial 
changes  is  now  conceded ;  and  the  question  of  accept- 
ing or  rejecting  an  itinerant  system  is  simply  between 
having  those  changes  made  regularly  or  irregularly, 
easily  and  pleasantly,  or  by  the  painful  process  of 
forced  dismissals  when  the  people  are  dissatisfied, 
or  by  unwelcome  resignations  when  the  pastor  has  an 
offer  of  a  higher  salary,  which  he  usually  accepts  as 
a  call  to  a  higher  field  of  usefulness. 

3.  While  a  system  of  itinerancy  imposes  some  hard- 
ships upon  both  pastors  and  people,  it  secures  to  both 
still  greater  advantages.  Conceding  all  that  may  be 
justly  said  of  the  undesirableness  of  frequent  removals, 
the  necessity  of  often  separating  from  dear  friends, 
and  of  forming  new  attachments,  as  well  as  of  some- 
times living  among  people  and  in  places  not  agreea- 
ble ;  granting  that  trials  and  hardships  in  these  and 
other  forms  have  to  be  encountered  in  the  itinerancy, 
it  may  still  be  claimed  that  they  are  small  compared 
with  the  higher  interests  of  the  Church,  which  the 
true  pastor  seeks  to  promote  at  any  personal  sacrifice. 


ADVANTAGES.  54 1 

He  does  not  enter  the  holy  ministry  as  a  means  of  seek- 
ing ease  or  comfort,  but  as  a  means  of  doing  good  to 
the  souls  of  men,  and  that  mode  of  life  which  will  enable 
him  to  do  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number 
is  to  him  the  most  attractive.  He  recognizes  the  fact 
that  not  a  whole  life-time  is  required  to  discharge  his 
whole  duty  to  individuals  or  a  community,  but  having 
discharged  that  duty  faithfully  in  one  place  it  is  his 
privilege  to  go  to  other  individuals  and  communities. 
Very  rare  are  the  opportunities  in  which  a  pastor  can 
hope  to  reach  and  benefit  as  many  souls  by  settling 
down  and  remaining  fixed  in  some  one  place  as  by 
going  forth 

"  To  seek  the  wandering  souls  of  men." 

The  itinerancy  establishes  a  golden  mean  between 
a  pilgrimage  and  a  settlement.  It  introduces  him  to 
any  community  to  which  he  is  sent  in  the  character 
of  a  citizen,  although  his  residence  may  continue  but 
a  single  year,  or  at  most  but  three  consecutive  years. 
On  til  is  plan  it  gives  him  facilities  for  making  full 
proof  of  his  ministry,  both  as  a  preacher  and  a  pastor, 
during  even  a  single  year,  and  prompts  him  to  dili- 
gent exertions  in  order  to  accomplish  all  he  can  year 
by  year,  and  thus  be  prepared  for  other  fields  in  their 
turn.  One  has  only  to  make  a  just  comparison  be- 
tween the  largest  opportunities  of  a  pastor  settled  for 
a  period,  say  of  forty  years,  in  the  same  parish  with 
those  of  an  itinerant  pastor,  who  in  the  same  period 
has  had  charge  of  twenty  or  more  different  Churches 
on  an  average  of  two  years  each,  to  form  some  idea 
of  the  vastly  wider  sphere  of  influence  occupied  by 
the  latter. 


542  PLEASURES. 

It  may  be  granted  that  changes  will  take  place  in 
the  most  quiet  neighborhood.  People  will  come  and 
go,  but  only  gradually,  and  rarely  with  any  of  those 
noticeable  changes  which  relieve  the  monotony  of 
pastoral  labor.  Whereas  a  single  removal  to  a  new 
field  will  accomplish  a  change  greater  than  is  often 
witnessed  in  any  one  Church  or  community  in  a  life- 
time. Thus  it  is  that  every  new  field  of  labor  offers 
new  opportunities  of  usefulness.  The  faults  and  errors 
of  a  previous  term  of  service  may  be  avoided.  Sundry 
dislikes,  which  in  the  best  of  circumstances  will  some- 
times accumulate  against  a  pastor,  are  left  behind  in 
his  removal.  All  his  surroundings  are  changed.  He 
finds  a  new  stimulus  to  reach  a  higher  point  of  ex- 
cellence and  usefulness.  His  comparatively  short 
stay  among  the  people  crowds  every  thing  to  a  focus. 
What  he  does  he  must  do  quickly,  and  with  his  might. 
The  spirit  of  his  mission  gives  him-  inspiration  ;  and 
his  messages  come  as  from  God  to  the  people. 

No  system  develops  men  like  this.  The  intelli- 
gent, observing  itinerating  minister  becomes  conver- 
sant with  society.  He  has  an  opportunity  to  study 
men.  He  mingles  with  all  the  professions.  He 
comes  in  contact  with  every  condition  of  mind  and 
heart.  Studying  the  human  mind  and  passions  as  he 
has  the  opportunity  to  do,  he  learns  how  to  lead  all 
classes  of  mind  and  heart  to  God.  He,  above  all 
others,  should  be  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed.  Added  to  all  this,  as  a  result  of  his  re- 
movals, he  is  able  to  maintain  variety  as  a  preacher, 
to  secure  time  to  become  a  thorough  student  in  the- 
ology, and  to  make  himself  tolerably  well  acquainted^ 


PERSONAL    OBLIGATIONS.  543 

with  general  literature  and  the  reading  of  the  day. 
He  that  does  not  do  this  is  wanting  in  the  aspira- 
tions necessary  to  make  him  an  able  minister  of  the 
New  Testament. 

As  an  offset  to  the  alleged  hardships  of  the  itiner- 
ancy it  is  well  to  consider  the  pleasures  of  the  itiner- 
ancy, such  as  new  fields,  new  friends,  and  none  of 
the  old  ones  lost,  a  full  scope  in  city  and  country,  and 
equally  at  home  in  each,  with  ever-enlarging  spheres 
of  access  to  souls  listening  to  the  word  as  in  view  of 
the  judgment.  As  these  considerations  have  a  corre- 
sponding reflex  bearing  upon  the  welfare  and  activity 
of  Churches,  it  seems  not  hazardous  to  affirm  that  the 
Churches  which  shall  maintain  the  best-regulated 
system  of  ministerial  itinerancy  will  most  influence 
for  good  the  people  of  the  coming  generations,  and 
hold  them  with  the  firmest  grasp.* 

Without  further  illustrating  the  principles  or  the 
system  of  ministerial  itinerancy  it  will  be  proper  to 
consider  some  of  the  obligations  of  those  who  volun- 
tarily place  themselves  in  relations  with  such  a  sys- 
tem and  the  persons  who  are  connected  with  it.  It 
is  obvious  that  whatever  system  of  ecclesiastical  policy 
a  minister  may  see  fit  to  adopt,  he  should  be  true  to 
it  both  in  spirit  and  in  practice.  Propriety  and  honor 
alike  forbid  that  a  person  attaching  himself  to  a  sys- 
tem chiefly  designed  to  promote  the  good  of  the 
Church  should  ask  to  have  that  system  administered 
for  his  personal  convenience ;  still  more  that  he 
should  complain  of  the  system. if  he  should  find  him- 
self occasionally  inconvenienced.     On  the  other  hand, 

*  Adapted  from  Christian  Advocate. 


544  OFFICIAL   OBLIGATIONS. 

the  principle  of  enduring  hardness  as  a  good  soldier, 
and  bearing  cheerfully  one's  share  of  the  burdens  of 
a  common  cause,  is  far  nobler  and  conducive  to  better 
results. 

Members  of  an  Annual  Conference  are  bound  to- 
gether by  strong  ties  of  mutual  obligation  and  confi- 
dence. They  have  innumerable  opportunities  of  doing 
each  other  good  in  the  very  act  of  promoting  the 
good  of  the  Churches  they  severally  serve.  Thus  in 
securing  the  erection  and  furnishing  of  parsonages, 
in  the  provision  and  replenishing  of  Church  libraries, 
by  kind  words  preparing  the  way  for  their  successors, 
and  in  many  other  ways,  they  can  happily  illustrate  the 
Golden  Rule,  and  in  their  turn  prove  its  value.  It  is 
not  proposed  here  to  treat  of  the  obligations  and 
amenities  due  from  ministers  to  each  other  in  the 
transaction  of  the  official  business  of  the  Church  any 
further  than  to  say  that  the  well-defined  provisions  of 
the  Discipline,  administered  in  the  spirit  of  our  Sav- 
ior's command,  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them,"  will  leave 
little  to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  promoting  mutual 
happiness  and  fraternal  confidence. 

It  is  well,  however,  to  remember  that  fraternal  obli- 
gations rise  superior  to  those  which  are  purely  ecclesi- 
astical. Hence  there  are  many  modes  in  which  a  true 
brotherly  regard  as  between  ministers  of  the  same 
Church  may  enable  them  to  do  each  other  good. 
The  aged  may  impart  the  benefit  of  their  experience 
and  counsel  to  the  young,  while  younger  ministers 
may  by  theii  zeal  and  vivacity  quicken  those  of  ad- 
vanced years.     Those  who  have  enjoyed  higher  advan- 


MINISTERIAL    ASSOCIATIONS.  545 

tages  of  scholarship,  of  observation,  or  of  travel,  may 
find  j)leasure  as  well  as  opportunities  of  peculiar  use- 
fulness in  prompting  the  inquiries  and  guiding  the 
investigations  of  their  junior  brethren,  while  all  may 
happily  contribute  to  each  other's  advancement  in  piety 
and  in  the  art  of  holy  living. 

Ministers'  meetings  and  associations,  having  such 
objects  in  view,  are  to  be  highly  commended.  When 
made  occasions  for  gossip,  for  trivial  conversation,  for 
a  routine  of  ceremonies,  or  for  acrimonious  debate, 
they  should  be  avoided  as  wasteful  of  time  and  dissi- 
pating to  the  mind  and  the  better  feelings.  It  may 
therefore  be  suggested,  that  whenever  preachers'  meet- 
ings or  District  Ministerial  Associations  are  estab- 
lished they  should  be  governed  by  strict  rules,  and 
that  their  exercises  should  be  planned  with  a  supreme 
reference  to  mutual  improvement,  in  reference  to  all 
the  higher  phases  of  ministerial  and  Christian  expe- 
rience. As  the  latter  class  of  associations  are  usually 
formed  in  country  districts,  and  involve  travel  and  ab- 
sence from  home  for  a  few  days  in  the  middle  of  the 
week,  it  is  highly  proper  for  pastors'  wives  to  accom- 
pany their  husbands,  both  to  profit  by  the  public 
exercises  of  such  occasions,  and  to  secure  opportuni- 
ties of  meeting  each  other  for  purposes  of  mutual 
acquaintance,  encouragement,  and  improvement. 

The  itinerancy  of  Methodism  establishes  a  class  of 
peculiar  ecclesiastical  relations,  denominated  connec- 
tional.  They  are  sustained  by  the  presiding  elders 
and  bishops  of  the  Church.  Ministers  holding  the 
offices  referred  to  are  pastors,  but  in  a  relation  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  overseer  of  a  particular  flock. 

46 


546  CONNECTION  A  L  DELATIONS. 

They  have  the  more  general  oversight  of  a  number, 
not  only  of  Churches,  but  of  the  pastors  of  those 
Churches,  and  are  charged  with  the  responsibility  of 
supplying  pastoral  vacancies.  While  their  relations 
to  particular  Churches  and  their  several  members  are 
less  direct  and  intimate  than  those  of  the  local  pas- 
tors, they  are  nevertheless  highly  important,  and  in- 
vested with  great  religious  responsibility.  Both  these 
offices  are  episcopal  in  character,  the  former  having 
superintendence  of  a  diocese  of  moderate  extent,  and 
the  latter  of  the  Churches  of  the  entire  ecclesiastical 
connection.  As  presiding  elders  and  bishops  are,  by 
virtue  of  their  office,  pastors  of  pastors,  as  well 
as  occasional  visitants  and  teachers  of  particular 
flocks,  they  occupy  positions  of  almost  illimitable 
influence  for  good,  from  which  those  enjoying  the 
benefit  of  their  counsels  should  always  be  anxious 
to  profit. 

However  intimate  and  important  the  relations  ex- 
isting between  ministers  of  the  same  Church  and 
fellow-members  of  the  same  itinerant  compact,  they 
are  by  no  means  exclusive  of  cordial  and  fraternal 
attachments  to  ministers  of  other  Churches  and  rep- 
resentatives of  other  ecclesiastical  bodies.  Indeed,  as 
various  Churches  co-exist  in  nearly  every  community, 
it  is  one  of  the  peculiar  responsibilities  of  all  pastors 
to  cultivate  friendship  and  brotherly  love  toward 
neighboring  pastors,  and  thus  do  all  in  their  power  to 
promote  kind  feelings  and  friendly  co-operation  be- 
tween different  Churches  and  their  members.  Such 
a  course  is  not  only  of  great  value  to  the  common 
interests  of  Christianity,  but  conducive,  in  the  high- 


RELATIONS  TO  NEIGHBORING  PASTORS.        547 

est  degree,  to  the  mutual  happiness  of  pastors  them- 
selves. Whereas,  mutual  jealousies  and  coldness,  not 
to  speak  of  contentions  and  strifes  between  the  pas- 
tors of  different  Churches,  are  a  reproach  to  those 
who  cause  them,  and  an  injury  to  the  sacred  interests 
of  Christ's  kingdom.  There  is  no  narrowness  more 
pitiable  than  that  of  religious  bigotry,  and  no  mean- 
ness more  contemptible  than  that  of  ecclesiastical 
pretension  and  exclusiveness,  while  true  nobleness  is 
always  illustrated  by  Christian  charity.  The  latter 
virtue  needs  not  only  to  be  cherished  in  the  heart, 
but  to  have  due  forms  of  expression  in  life  and  con- 
duct. Where  it  really  exists  it  will  be  manifested  in 
the  courtesies  due  from  one  minister  to  another,  as  in 
friendly  calls,  pulpit  exchanges  and  union  meetings, 
both  of  a  social  and  public  character,  all  of  which 
may  receive  sufficient  attention  without  hindering  the 
full  discharge  of  a  pastor's  individual  duties.  It  is  a 
happy  omen  of  the  present  day  that  true  Christian^ 
charity  is  becoming  more  fully  illustrated  than  it  has 
sometimes  been,  as  between  different  ministers  and 
Churches,  and  it  especially  devolves  on  the  pastors  of 
this  favored  period  to  do  what  they  can  toward  ren- 
dering practical,  for  the  common  advantage  of  Chris- 
tianity, a  sentiment  which  needs  exemplification  in 
every  community  in  which  they  live.  The  man  who, 
by  undue  reserve,  haughtiness  of  manner,  or  by  man- 
ifestations of  bigotry  and  exclusiveness,  repels  Chris- 
tian fellowship  and  hinders  fraternal  co-operation,  is 
a  sorry  specimen  of  what  a  Christian  pastor  ought 
to  be.  Fortunately,  the  spirit  of  the  present  age  is 
competent  to  gauge  the  littleness  of  such  a  man,  and 


548  TO  PASTORAL  SUCCESSION. 

of  any  system  he  may  assume  to  represent.  In  fact, 
the  just  position  of  both  in  the  scale  of  public  influ- 
ence is  so  very  low  as  rarely  to  be  saved  from  con- 
tempt. 

In  addition  to  a  pastor's  obligation  to  his  Church 
and  to  his  fellow-laborers  already  in  the  ministry, 
there  devolves  on  him  the  pleasant  duty  and  the  pecu- 
liar privilege  of  encouraging  and  directing  young  men 
who  are  called  to  a  similar  service,  and  thus  of  doing 
his  share  toward  providing  for  the  ministerial  suc- 
cession of  the  future.  The  thought  that  the  young 
persons  who  receive  instruction  from  his  lips  may 
live  to  give  similar  instructions  to  representatives  of 
successive  generations  after  his  departure  from  earth, 
is  cheering  to  any  gospel  laborer.  Useful  Christians 
in  every  sphere  of  Church  activity  may  have  a  share 
in  this  joy,  but  none  to  so  great  an  extent  as  the 
faithful  pastor.  His  position  at  the  head  of  the 
Church  and  Sunday-school  gives  him  the  largest  op- 
portunity of  access  to  those  from  among  whom  fu- 
ture ministers  may  be  expected  to  be  raised  up,  while 
it  will  naturally  lead  them  to  seek  his  advice  and  fol- 
low his  counsel.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  this  respon- 
sibility of  pastors  is  too  much  overlooked,  together 
with  that  of  enhsting  the  prayers  of  the  Church  that 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest  would  send  forth  laborers 
into  his  harvest.  These  are  appointed  agencies  by 
which  a  true  Church  is  to  be  perpetuated  in  the 
earth,  and  certainly  no  true  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  should  be  indifferent  to  them. 


OBSTACLES.  549 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

PASTORAL  DIFFICULTIES,  TRIALS,  AND  ENCOURAGE- 
MENTS. 

SINCE  difficulties  are  incident  to  all  human  cir- 
cumstances, pastors  must  expect  to  encounter 
their  full  share.  In  fact,  when  they  consider  that 
religious  faithfulness  will  make  it  necessary  for  them 
to  rebuke  and  endeavor  to  counteract  all  the  evil  pas- 
sions and  tendencies  of  men,  they  need  not  think  it 
strange  if  they  have  to  encounter  more  and  greater 
difficulties  than  are  the  lot  of  most  persons. 

Since,  moreover,  they  are  human,  it  is  well  for  them 
to  be  watchfid  lest  some  of  their  most  em- 

•  rr  r  1     •  1  Internal. 

barrassnig  difficulties  are  found  in  them- 
selves. Of  the  internal  obstacles  to  their  own  highest 
success  of  which  pastors  ..may  sometimes  be  painfully 
conscious,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  name  imperfection 
of  judgment,  weakness  of  faith,  and  fondness  of  ease. 
That  pastors,  like  other  men,  are  also  liable  to  temp- 
tation and  to  fall  through  moral  exposure  and  the  fatal 
arts  of  designing  persons,  becomes  an  additional  rea- 
son why  they  should  hedge  themselves  about  with  a 
double  guard  of  watchfulness,  prayer,  and  conscious 
dependence  on  God,  lest  they  fail  of  attaining  the  high 
objects  to  which  their  life  is  devoted,  through  some 
defect  in  their  own  life  or  character. 


5  50  WORK  DEMANDED. 

Obstacles  from  without  are  to  be  found  in  the  in- 
difference of  many,  the  worldliness  of  some, 

External.  ....  ^, 

and  the  opposition  of  others.  The  excite- 
ments of  business  and  of  politics,  and  the  fascinations 
of  amusements,  and  of  society,  together  with  the  nat- 
ural opposition  of  the  human  heart  to  the  claims  of 
spiritual  religion,  conspire  together  to  divert  attention 
from  sacred  things,  and  to  neutralize  the  power  of 
good  impressions  that  from  time  to  time  may  be  made. 
These  opposing  influences  are  not  always  equally  ac- 
tive, or  combined  in  the  same  form  or  degree,  but 
every  zealous  minister  must  prepare  to  encounter 
them  in  some  form.  Instead,  however,  of  being  dis- 
couraged on  that  account  he  should  remember  that 
did  they  not  exist,  there  would  be,  practically,  no  call 
for  his  services.  Workmen  are  not  wanted  where 
there  is  nothing  to  do. 

The  whole  theory  of  the  Christian  ministry,  as 
represented  in  the  New  Testament,  is  that  of  labor, 
Scriptural  "  labor  iu  word  and  doctrine,"  "  labor  and 

idea.  travail,"  "  labor  of  love,"  "  labor  and  pa- 

tience," also  work,  ''  work  of  the  ministry,"  "  work  of 
faith,"  and  ''work  of  an  evangelist."  Corresponding 
to  these  ideas  every  pastor  should  strive  to  be  a  "la- 
borer together  with  God,"  and  "  a  workman  that  need- 
eth  not  to  be  astiamed."  In  this  character  and  by 
divine  help,  he  may  expect  to  overcome  obstacles, 
vanquish  difficulties,  and  become  more  than  conqueror 
through  Him  that  hath  loved  him  and  called  him  with 
a  holy  calling ! 

But  even  though  this  result  may  be  attained,  the 
pastor  can  not  expect  to  be  free  from  trials.     Trials 


TRIALS  MANIFOLD.  5  $  I 

are  a  part  of  the  earthly  discipline  of  humanity,  from 
which  neither  Christians  nor  ministers  are  exempt. 
The  latter,  therefore,  may  expect  trials — 
trials  of  their  faith,  trials  of  their  patience, 
trials  of  their  hope,  trials  of  their  fidelity,  and,  in  short, 
trials  of  all  their  graces  and  talents.  Notwithstand- 
ing their  best  efforts  and  the  purest  lives,  they  will  be 
subject  to  misapprehension  and  misrepresentation. 
Though  faithful  to  the  last  degree,  they  will  at  times 
be  pained  with  the  languor,  coldness,  and  even  the 
spiritual  deadness  of  the  Church.  Sometimes  they 
will  be  saddened  by  heart-breaking  apostasies  and 
horrified  with  death-bed  scenes  which  seem  to  take 
them  to  the  very  portals  of  perdition.  Often  they 
will  be  humiliated  with  the  failure  of  their  best  efforts 
and  the  disappointment  of  their  most  sanguine  hopes 
to  win  souls  and  to  maintain  the  peace  and  purity  of  the 
Church.  Sometimes  they  will  find  themselves  bur- 
dened almost  beyond  endurance  with  the  claims  made 
upon  their  time  and  attention  by  persons  who  are 
either  thoughtless,  impertinent,  or  perverse.  Some- 
times they  will  be  wearied  to  exhaustion  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  legitimate  duties.  Superadded  to  in- 
numerable trials  of  the  classes  indicated  may  be  that 
of  scanty  and  irregular  support,  and  the  burdens  of 
growing  or  afflicted  families  placed  in  unfavorable  cir- 
cumstances, and  cut  off  from  many  privileges  which 
the  husband  and  father  is  conscious  he  might  have 
secured  for  them  by  secular  engagements. 

It  does  not  lessen  the  severity  of  these  trials  to 
know  that  some  of  them  might  be  easily  relieved  or 
prevented  by  persons  who  profess  and  who  ought  to 


552  CO  UNTERA  CTED  B  V  FOR  TITUDE, 

be  the  pastor's  sincere  friends.  Nevertheless,  there 
is  a  sort  of  negative  consolation  in  knowing  that  these 
trials  are  scarcely  greater  than  fall  to  the  average  lot 
of  humanity  in  some  other  form.  But  far  better  than 
this  is  the  positive  consolation  found  in  "  casting  all 
our  care  on  Him  that  careth  for  us,"  in  the  unwaver- 
ing assurance  that  "  God  shall  supply  all  our  need 
according  to  his  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus." 

Having  so  many  exceeding  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises written  for  our  encouragement,  we  ought  not  to 
be  cumbered  with  serving,  or  to  be  careful  about  many 
things.  Least  of  all  should  a  pastor  allow  himself  to 
magnify  his  trials,  or  morbidly  dwell  upon  them,  as 
though  some  strange  thing  had  happened  to  him. 
Far  better  is  it  to  meet  his  necessary  or  unavoidable 
trials  manfully,  and  in  the  strength  of  grace,  and  thus 
diminish  their  force,  if  not  wholly  destroy  their  power 
by  the  Christian  courage  with  which  they  are  encoun- 
tered. While  no  considerate  person  could  ever  have 
expected  that  the  great  objects  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry could  be  accomplished  without  severe  labors,  and 
a  certain  measure  of  trials,  yet  whoever,  in  obedience 
to  the  heavenly  mandate,  has  set  his  heart  on  the 
accompHshment  of  those  objects,  will  have  learned  to 
say  with  the  apostle :  "  None  of  these  things  move 
me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that 
I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry 
which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."  Acts  xx,  24. 
Encourage-  Nevcrthelcss,  it  is  proper  for  every  min- 
ments.  \'s>\qx  to  fortify  his  mind  and  strengthen  his 

heart  by  a  just  consideration  of  the  encouragements 


GLORIOUS  AIMS  AND  ENGAGEMENTS,         553 

in  which  as  a  faithful  servant  of  God  he  is  entitled 
to  share.  Such  encouragements  are  numerous,  and 
of  the  most  exalted  character.  The  more  important 
of  them  may  be  indicated  in  connection  with  the  nat- 
ure of  the  ministerial  and  pastoral  work,  the  results 
of  that  work  in  time,  and  its  rewards  in  eternity. 

1.  The  moral  dignity  and  the  sacred  objects  of  a 
true  minister's  work  are  of  themselves  sufficient  to 
buoy  him  up  against  all  ordinary  discouragements, 
and  to  inspire  him  with  a  confidence  not  easily  baffled 
or  shaken. 

"  His  duties  and  pursuits  are  distinguished  from  all  others  by 
their  immediate  relation  to  the  ultimate  end  of  human  existence; 
so  that  while  secular  employments  can  only  be  rendered  inno- 
cent by  an  extreme  care  to  avoid  the  pollutions  which  they  are 
so  liable  to  contract,  the  ministerial  functions  bear  an  indelible 
impress  of  sanctity."  "How  much  of  heaven  is  naturally  con- 
nected with  an  office  whose  sole  business  it  is  to  conduct  man 
thither  !"  "  What  an  honor  to  be  employed  as  the  instrument 
of  conducting-  that  mysterious  process  by  which  men  are  born 
of  God;  to  expel  from  the  heart  the  venom  of  the  old  serpent; 
to  purge  the  conscience  from  invisible  stains  of  guilt;  to  release 
the  passions  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  and  invite  them  to 
soar  aloft  into  the  regions  of  uncreated  light  and  beauty  !"  "  In 
our  profession  the  full  force  and  vigor  of  the  mind  may  be  ex- 
erted on  that  which  will  employ  it  forever ;  on  religion,  the  final 
center  of  repose  ;  the  goal  to  which  all  things  tend,  which  gives 
to  time  all  its  importance,  to  eternity  all  its  glory  ;  apart  from 
which  man  is  a  shadow,  his  very  existence  a  riddle,  and  the  stu- 
pendous scenes  which  surround  him  as  incoherent  and  unmean- 
ing as  the  leaves  which  the  Sybil  scattered  in  the  wind."* 

2.  Not  only  from  the  design,  but  from  the  actual 
results  of  ministerial  labor  may  the  laborer  be  en- 
couraged.    It  is  not  necessary  for  him  to  limit  his 

*  Robert  Hall. 
47 


554  GLORIOUS  BUT  MINGLED   RESULTS, 

view  to  the  results  of  his  personal  efforts.  He  is  at 
liberty  to  consider  4iimself  as  one  of  many- 
workers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  and 
his  exertions  as  a  part  of  a  great  organized  system  of 
effort  for  the  present  and  eternal  welfare  of  humanity. 
If  faithful  to  the  trust  committed  to  him,  though  it  be 
only  that  of  standing  sentinel  in  some  obscure  and 
lonely  outpost  of  Zion,  he  is  entitled  to  share  in  the 
glory  and  the  triumph  of  the  whole  army  of  the  Lord 
to  which  he  belongs.  While  no  one  should  suffer  his 
sense  of  personal  responsibility  to  be  diminished,  in 
the  idea  that  general  success  is  certain,  yet  every  one 
who  is  conscious  of  doing  all  he  can  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry  may  be  encouraged  by  the  assurance  that, 
even  in  the  present  life,  his  labor  is  not  in  vain  in 
the  Lord.  The  results  of  ministerial  labor  appear  in 
every  phase  of  enlightened  society  by  which  it  is  ele- 
vated above  the  wretchedness  and  degradation  of  bar- 
barism. The  checking  of  vice  and  immorality,  the 
conservation  of  virtue,  the  enlightenment  and  educa- 
tion of  the  public  conscience,  the  creation  and  control 
of  public  opinion  on  moral  questions,  are  all  legitimate 
and  important  results  of  the  faithful  ministration  of 
the  word  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel  in  any  and  in 
all  communities.  These  influences  have  a  direct  bear- 
ing upon  the  enactment  and  administration  of  laws, 
and  upon  whatever  enters  into  the  welfare 
egis  a  ion.  ^^  Statcs  as  wcll  as  of  individuals,  and  yet 
they  are  only  the  beginning,  the  preparation  indeed, 
of  the  peculiar  work  of  the  ministry.  When  commu- 
nities are  leavened  with  the  morality  of  the  gospel 
they  are  only  just  prepared  to  receive  the  full  power 


povB  in- 
stitutions. 


ENCOURAGING  EXPERIENCES.  555 

of  its  religious  influence.  The  religious  results  of 
ministerial  labor  are  seen  outwardly  in  the  erection 
of  Christian  temples,  which  invite  the  people  to  wor- 
ship, and  offer  instruction  to  them  and  to  their  chil- 
dren. They  may  also  be  seen  in  the  found-  Reiigi- 
ing  of  Sunday-schools,  which  become  nuclei 
of  other  Churches,  and  in  all  those  schemes  of  prac- 
tical Christian  benevolence  by  which  the  wretched- 
ness of  mankind  is  alleviated,  and  young  and  old  are 
admonished  of  their  high  responsibilities  to  their  God 
and  Judge. 

In  the  predominance  or  even  prevalence  of  such 
influences,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  humanity  is 
improved  in  all  its  enjoyments  and  prospects.  But 
most  of  all  is  the  pastor  cheered  when  he  is  per- 
mitted to  see  the  work  of  righteousness  accomplished 
in  human  hearts  and  the  fruits  of  faith  matured  in 
human  lives.  When  the  impenitent  are  The  salvation 
converted,  when  apostates  are  reclaimed,  °f"^^"- 
when  believers  are  matured  in  progressive  experience 
and  in  holy  living  ;  when  moral  wastes  are  made  like 
Eden,  and  deserts  of  sin  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord ; 
when  Zion  is  comforted  and  her  courts  made  to  re- 
sound with  gladness,  thanksgiving,  and  the  voice  of 
melody — what  tongue  can  utter  the  joy  of  a  pastor's 
heart ! 

Even  though  he  may  not  always  witness  the  full 
consummation  of  his  desires  as  to  these  crowning 
results  of  his  labor,  he  may  have,  even  in  his  darkest 
hours,  the  consciousness  of  duty  discharged  and  the 
confidence  of  trust  that  God  will  bring  to  pass  at  the 
appropriate  time  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will,  however 


556  THE  HIGHEST  DIGNITY, 

feeble  the  instrumentality  employed  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. 

However  worldly  men  and  scoffers  may  affect  to 
despise  the  humble  ministry  of  the  cross  of  Christ, 
they  who  are  charged  with  its  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities may  have  the  continual  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  their  life  is  devoted  to  the  noblest  objects 
for  which  humanity  can  exist ;  that  in  their  efforts  to 
do  good  they  are  associated  with  the  very  best  of  those 
who  live  or  ever  have  lived  upon  the  earth,  and  more 
than  all,  that  they  are  actual  co-workers  with  God. 
In  their  appropriate  sphere  they  may  adopt  the  lan- 
guage of  the  apostles,  "  In  all  things  approving  our- 
selves as  the  ministers  of  God."  See  2  Cor.  vi,  4-10. 
Before  such  privileges  and  rewards  as  these  how 
insignificant  are  the  honors  of  «arth,  how  paltry  its 
treasures,  how  mean  its  ambitions ! 

The  pastor  is  often  permitted  to  have  demonstra- 
tion of  the  power  of  grace  upon  the  human  heart  and 
of  the  efficacy  of  the  truth  he  teaches,  not  only  in 
the  consistent  lives  of  those  who  have  been  brought 
from  darkness  into  light,  and  "from  the  bondage  of 
corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children 
of  God,"  but  also  in  the  patient  suffering  and  the  tri- 
umphant departure  of  those  whom  he  is  permitted  to 
accompany  down  the  declivity  of  life,  into  the  very 
gloom  of  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  From 
this  extreme  point  of  earthly  vision  he  is  enabled  to 
see  with  more  clearness  than  from  any  other  the  supe- 
riority of  the  soul's  interests  above  those  of  time  or 
of  sense.  He  is  also  enabled  to  comprehend  how 
dismal  would  have  been  the  condition  of  humanity 


PECULIAR  CONSOLATIONS.  $57 

without  the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  and  how  dark  the 
history  and  prospects  of  this  world  without  the  min- 
istrations of  Christianity.  From  such  scenes  and 
contemplations  how  unworthy  to  be  mentioned  appear 
the  hardships  and  the  trials  which  have  to  be  encoun- 
tered in  the  accomplishment  of  the  results  at  which 
the  ministry  aims !  Weak  minds  may  dwell  upon 
those  hardships  and  weak  faith  may  quail  before  the 
burdens,  the  toils,  and  the  sacrifices  which  lie  in  the 
pathway  of  great  ministerial  usefulness,  but  courageous 
hearts  will  glory  in  them  as  crosses  which  need  to  be 
borne  in  order  to  win  the  crown  of  triumph.  To  such, 
even  crosses  are  lightened  by  the  purity  and  supe- 
riority of  the  joy  which  arises  from  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  ministerial  duty.  When  Jesus  said  to  his 
disciples,  "I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of," 
he  also  explained  to  them,  "  My  meat  is  .to  do  the  will 
of  him  that  sent  me  and  to  finish  his  work."  *  To 
that  same  glorious  banquet  he  admits  his  faithful  min- 
isters, and  when  sharers  of  its  joy  they  are  enabled  to 
say  to  those  who  have  become  partakers  with  them  of 
like  precious  faith,  "  Now  we  live  if  ye  stand  fast  in 
the  Lord."t  "We  have  no  greater  joy  than  to  hear 
that  our  children  walk  in  the  truth."  % 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  while  Christian  pastors 
and  teachers  are  not  subjected  to  any  greater  trials 
and  hardships  than  usually  fall  to  the  lot  of  other 
men ;  while,  in  fact,  they  enjoy  a  happy  immunity 
from  the  dangers,  the  contaminations,  and  the  grovel- 
ings  of  worldly  engagements,  they  are,  at  the  same 
time,  admitted  to  higher  privileges,  and  permitted  to 

♦John  iv,  31-34.        1 1  Thess.  iii,  7-9.        J 2  John  4. 


558  HAPPY  IMMUNITIES. 

toil  for  nobler  objects,  also  with  stronger  assurances 
of  success,  since  they  "  go  not  a  warfare  at  their  own 
charges,"  but  can  claim  the  promised  presence  and  the 
divine  aid  of  the  Captain  of  their  Salvation,  who,  from 
the  beginning,  said,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

3.  While  the  foregoing  views  are  sufficient  to  show 
the  superiority  of  the  Christian  ministry  to  all  other 
callings,  and  that  its  present  rewards  are  not  inferior 
to  aught  that  earth  can  give,  nevertheless  the  proper 
rewards  of  faithful  pastors  lie  beyond  the  present  life. 
In  that  certainty  they  may  find  encouragements  to 
quicken  their  faith,  and  joys  to  overbalance  their  sor- 
rows, though  it  will  only  be  when  the  Chief  Shepherd 
shall  appear  as  the  judge  of  the  quick  and  the  dead  that 
they  "  shall  receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not 
away."*  Then  "they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many 
to  righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever."t  In 
the  light  of  such  promises  no  one  can  fail  to  see  the 
great  superiority  of  heavenly  over  earthly  rewards. 
He,  therefore,  who  fixes  his  eye  upon,  "the  mark  for 
the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus," 
may  easily  bear  the  light  afflictions  and  brief  trials  of 
the  present  life  in  hope  of  the  glory  that  shall  follow. 
If,  moreover,  his  glorious  Leader  shall  vouchsafe  to 
him  encouragements  by  the  way,  he  will  thankfully 
receive  them  as  an  earnest  of  the  higher  joys  and 
more  enduring  rewards  that  await  him  at  the  end  of 
life's  conflicts,  when  he  hopes  to  receive  the  appro- 
bation of  his  divine  Master :   "  Well  done,  good  and 

*  I  Peter  v,  4  t  Daniel  xii,  3. 


ETERNAL  REWARDS.  559 

faithful    servant,"    "enter   thou   into   the  joy  of  thy 
Lord." 

Among  the  felicities  of  the  everlasting  glory  of  the 
Redeemer,  will  be  that  of  having  shared  Heavenly  com- 
the  companionship  of  earthly  toil,  and  p^-°°^Wp- 
faith,  and  suffering  for  the  cross  and  kingdom  of 
Jesus.  By  it  the  minister  of  the  gospel  who  shall 
have  been  faithful  to  his  talent  and  his  trust  will  be 
brought  into  perfected  sympathy  with  the  prophets, 
the  apostles,  the  martyrs,  and  the  accepted  ministers 
of  the  truth  in  all  ages.  While  eternity  can  never 
exhaust  the  delights  of  such  a  companionship,  it  may 
nevertheless  be  made  more  rapturous  by  the  harvest- 
home  of  souls  who  shall  appear  as  the  gathered  fruit 
of  every  individual's  labor.  Nor  will  the  pastor  then 
feel  that  his  share  of  the  triumph  is  limited  to  the  di- 
rect results  of  his  personal  efforts.  As  Christ  prayed 
not  for  his  disciples  alone,  but  for  those  who  believe 
on  him  through  their  word,  so  each  gospel  laborer 
may  expect  to  share  in  the  glorious  results  of  all  the 
successful  labors  of  all  who  are  converted  through  his 
instrumentality  and  that  of  their  successors  to  the 
end  of  time.  But  since  "  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
Him,"  how  can  thought  conceive  or  tongue  utter  the 
riches  or  the  extent  of  those  peculiar  glories  which 
await  the  sincere,  the  zealous,  the  obedient,  and  self- 
denying  ministers  of  Jesus  in  the  world  to  come ! 


APPENDIX 


A. 

No  example  of  literary  imposture  has  been  more  successful  and  at 
the  same  time  more  prejudicial  to  correct  views  of  Church  polity  than 
that  of  the  "  Constitutions  of  the  Holy  Apostles,"  referred  to  on  page 
89.  Having  been  put  forth  at  a  period  when  literary  criticism  was 
unknown,  and  having  been  adroitly  harmonized  with  the  drift  of  cor- 
rupt practice  then  gaining  currency  in  the  Greek  and  Roman  Churches, 
neither  the  literary  nor  the  religious  authority  of  this  strange  collection 
of  documents  was  questioned  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  A  few 
extracts  are  subjoined  to  indicate  at  once  the  literary  character  of  the 
work  and  the  influence  it  has  wrought  upon  certain  systems  of  eccle- 
siasticism  not  unknown  at  the  present  day : 

PRETENDED   AUTHORSHIP. 

"The  Apostles  and  Elders  to  all  those  who,  from  among  the  Gentiles,  have  believed 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     Book  /,  §  i. 

"We  who  are  now  assembled  in  our  place,  Peter  and  Andrew,  James  and  John, 
sons  of  Zebedee,  Philip  and  Bartholomew,  Thomas  and  Matthew,  James  the  son  of 
Alpheus,  and  Lebbeus,  who  was  surnamed  Thaddeus,  and  Simon  the  Canaanite,  and 
Matthias,  who,  instead  of  Judas,  was  numbered  with  us,  James  the  brother  of  the 
Lord  and  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  and  Paul  the  teacher  of  the  Gentiles,  the  chosen 
vessel — all  being  present,  have  written  to  you  this  Catholic  Doctrine  for  the  confirmation 
of  you  to  whom  the  oversight  of  the  Church  universal  is  committed."     Book  VI,  §  14. 

PRETENDED   ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE   HIERARCHY. 

"As  to  those  things  which  have  happened  among  us  ye,  yourselves,  are  not  ignorant. 
For  ye  know  perfectly  that  those  who  are  by  us  named  Bishops,  and  Presbyters,  and 
Deacons  were  made  by  prayer  and  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  and  that  by  the  differ- 
ence of  the  names  is  indicated  the  difference  of  their  employments.  For  not  every  one 
that  will  is  ordained,  as  the  case  was  in  that  spurious  and  counterfeit  priesthood  of  the 
calves  under  Jeroboam.  For  if  there  were  no  rules  or  distinction  of  orders  it  would 
suffice  to  perform  all  the  offices  under  one  name.  But  being  taught  by  the  Lord  the 
series  of  things,  we  distributed  the  functions  of  the  High-Priesthood  to  the  Bishops, 
those  of  the  Priesthood  to  the  Presbyters,  and  the  ministration  under  them  both  to  the 
Deacons,  that  the  divine  worship  might  be  performed  in  purity.     For  it  is  not  lawful 

561 


562 


APPENDIX. 


for  a  Deacon  to  offer  the  sacrifice,  or  to  baptize,  or  to  give  the  blessing,  either  small 
or  great.  Nor  may  a  Presbyter  perform  ordination,  for  it  is  not  agreeable  to  holiness 
to  have  order  overturned.  For  such  as  these  do  not  fight  against  us  nor  against  the 
Bishops,  but  against  the  universal  Bishop,  even  the  High-Priest  of  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord.  High-Priests,  Priests,  and  Levites  were  ordained  by  Moses,  the 
most  beloved  of  God.  By  our  Savior  we,  the  thirteen  apostles,  were  ordained ;  and  by 
the  apostles  St.  James  and  St.  Clement,  and  others  with  us,  (that  we  may  not  make  the 
catalogue  of  all  those  Bishops  over  again. )  Moreover,  by  us  all  in  common  were  or- 
dained Presbyters,  and  Deacons,  and  Sub-deacons,  and  Readers."     Book  VIII,  §  46. 

AFFIRMATION   OF   PRIESTLY  PREROGATIVES  AND 

EMOLUMENTS. 

"Ye,  therefore,  at  the  present  day,  O  Bishops,  are  to  your  people  priests  and 
Levites,  ministering  to  the  holy  tabernacle,  the  holy  Catholic  Church ;  who  stand  at 
the  altar  of  the  Lord  your  God  and  offer  to  him  reasonable  and  unbloody  sacrifices 
through  Jesus  the  great  High-Priest.  Ye  are  to  the  laity  prophets,  rulers,  governors, 
and  kings — the  mediators  between  God  and  his  faithful  people,  who  receive  and, 
declare  his  word,  well  acquainted  with  the  Scriptures.  Ye  are  the  voice  of  God  ano 
witnesses  of  his  will,  who  bear  the  sins  and  intercede  for  all."    Book  II,  §  25. 


BISHOP  AMES  ON  COURTESY. 

"All  who  have  bestowed  a  little  attention  upon  society,  who  have  marked  the  prog- 
ress that  some  men  have  made  and  others  failed  to  make,  will  see  that  courtesy  and 
good  breeding  have  much  to  do  with  the  successful  mission  of  our  lives,  and  nothing 
is  little  that  either  makes  or  mars  the  life-mission  of  a  man  or  woman.  Courtesy  is 
a  matter  worthy  of  consideration,  because  it  is  explicitly  taught  and  enjoined  by  the 
apostle.  He,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  enjoins  it  upon  Christians 
that  they  be  courteous ;  and  I  appeal  to  the  more  experienced  and  observing  among 
my  hearers  to  know  if,  in  looking  over  the  list  of  their  acquaintances  through  general 
society,  in  the  community,  and  in  the  Church,  courtesy  has  not  had  much  to  do  with 
individual  success.  Do  we  not  know  of  merchants  who  are  alike  in  all  substantial 
qualities,  equally  honest,  having  about  the  same  amount  of  capital  and  credit,  and  yet 
one  of  them  constantly  draws  custom,  but  the  other  fails  to  do  so?  One  turns  his 
capital  frequently  and  always  profitably ;  in  the  other  case  his  goods  become  old,  and 
he  can  hardly  find  a  purchaser.  Now,  when  you  come  to  examine  the  two  men,  you 
will  find  that  one  is  genial,  pleasant,  and  attractive ;  his  countenance  is  at  once  a 
doxology  and  a  benediction  to  every  customer  that  comes  to  his  shop,  and  this  natu- 
rally draws  around  him  an  increase  of  trade  and  accumulates  fortune.  And  what  is 
true  in  mercantile  pursuits  is  true  in  professional  life.  Do  we  not  know  members  of 
the  legal  profession  that  we  esteem  as  able  advocates  and  as  learned  counsel,  and  yet  all 
are  not  equally  successful  who  are  equally  learned  and  industrious?  You  will  see  one  of 
these  lawyers  constantly  accumulating  briefs,  constantly  increasing  the  number  of  his 
clients,  constantly  adding  to  his  fortune  and  increasing  his  influence,  until  from  the  work 
of  the  office  he  rises  step  by  step,  and  occupies  a  place  amid  the  ranks  of  statesmen, 
and  exerts  a  potential  influence  in  legislative  halls  and  senatorial  chambers ;  while  the 
'■ther,  who  was  his  equal  in  all  the  substantial  elements  of  success  when  they  were 
both  young  men,  passes  through  a  long  and  unsuccessful  life  a  briefless  barrister. 

"The  man  who  now  holds  the  second  place  in  the  gift  of  the  American  people  holds 


APPENDIX.  563 

that  position,  not  in  virtue  of  superior  talent  and  honesty,  but  he  Is  one  of  your 
genial,  kindly,  pleasant  gentlemen,  who  naturally  attracts  friends  wherever  he  goes, 
and  who  gathers  about  him  those  who  take  an  interest  in  him  because  of  this  very 
geniality  and  universal  kind-heartedness.  If  I  look  among  the  members  of  my  own 
profession,  as  I  glance  over  a  pastorate  of  some  forty  years,  much  of  the  time  having 
had  a  wide  range  of  observation,  I  do  know  that,  when  parishioners  come  seeking 
pastors,  talent  is  not  the  only  thing  they  ask  for,  nor  is  it  oftentimes,  by  any  means, 
the  most  important  thing  they  want.  They  desire  a  pastor  who  is  gentle,  pleasant, 
gentlemanly,  kind-hearted.  I  look  back  now  over  more  than  one-third  of  a  century 
with  very  distinct  recollections  of  a  large  multitude  of  ministers  of  our  own  com- 
munion. I  remember  those  who,  thirty  years  ago,  were  substantially  equal  in  the 
elements  of  a  good  Christian  character,  all  of  them  above  suspicion,  all  of  them 
honest  in  their  purposes,  and  yet  some  of  them  have  fallen  back,  while  others  have 
gone  steadily  forward.  And  I  declare  to  you  that,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  see, 
in  many  cases  the  principal  ground  of  failure  on  one  part  and  success  on  the  other 
has  been  in  these  lighter  elements  of  character. 

"Although  these  things  may  not  come  up  even  to  the  dignity  of  minor  morals,  I 
submit  to  you  that  this  is  one  of  the  cases  where  it  does  well  to  tithe  even  mint,  anise, 
and  cumin.  If  by  attention  to  these  things  we  can  make  ourselves  more  useful,  it  is 
well  worth  while  to  attend  to  them.  Of  course,  a  minister  does  not  forfeit  his  soul 
because  he  does  not  know  how  to  enter  and  leave  a  parlor ;  he  has  not  committed  a 
mortal  sin  because  he  can  not  make  a  graceful  bow ;  he  has  not  offended  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  because  he  always  wears  a  somber  countenance  instead  of  a  smiling  face. 
But  if  these  things  have  so  much  to  do  with  our  success  as  ministers  of  Christ,  I 
submit  to  you  if  our  text  (Rom.  xvi,  1-15)  teaches  no  other  lesson  but  that  of  courtesy, 
it  is  well  worth  our  learning." — Extract  of  Sermon  on  "  The  Church  in  the  Hojise." 


c. 

BISHOP  MORRIS'S  HINTS  TO  YOUNG  MINISTERS. 

"  I.  Do  every  thing  at  the  right  time,  not  a  half  hour  after  the  time.  If  we  do  not 
observe  this  rule  we  shall  be  perpetually  interfering  with  the  rights  and  comforts  of 
others.  Moreover,  if  we  are  behind  in  one  thing  we  will  most  likely  be  behind  in 
another,  and  so  the  thing  will  grow  to  be  a  habit  with  us.  Take  the  subject  of  reports 
of  statistics.  In  every  Conference  there  are  frequent  calls  on  delinquents.  The  right 
place  to  make  up  reports  is  at  home,  where  the  records  are  at  hand,  and  the  place  to 
make  reports  is  the  first  day  at  Conference.  The  secretary  has  to  copy  these  reports, 
and  he  ought  to  have  them  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment. 

"  2.  Make  preparation  to  preach.  You  are  to  study.  You  are  to  study  diligently, 
regularly,  prayerfully.  No  man  can  succeed  who  does  not  study.  There  are,  how- 
ever, two  ways  of  composing — one  on  paper,  the  other  mentally.  He  who  composes 
only  on  paper  can  only  use  his  material  when  every  thing  is  favorable ;  but  he  who 
composes  in  his  mind  can  preach  under  almost  any  circumstances — in  the  parlor,  the 
school-house,  under  the  tree,  in  the  street.  When  we  are  commanded  to  go  into  all 
the  world,  I  do  not  understand  we  are  to  read,  but  to  preach.  Rather  than  listen  to 
a  man  read  I  would  prefer  to  hear  him  extemporize,  though  he  violated  the  rules  of 
grammar  in  every  third  sentence.  In  a  ministry  of  fifty  years  I  have  never  read  a 
single  sermon  in  the  pulpit,  and  tried  the  use  of  notes  or  a  brief  but  three  times. 
Condensation  is  a  very  important  thing  in  a  minister.  Have  something  to  say,  say  it, 
and  quit  when  you  are  done. 


564  APPENDIX, 

"3.  But  important  as  preaching  is,  it  is  only  part  of  our  work.  Pastoral  visitation 
is  the  great  duty  of  the  ministry.     We  are  to  go  from  house  to  house,  as  Paul  did. 

"The  children  are  the  hope  of  the  Church  and  the  hope  of  the  world.  They  are 
soon  to  take  our  places  in  both.  If  you  wish  to  succeed,  make  friends  of  the  children. 
If  you  ■ndsh  to  keep  young  while  your  head  grows  white,  be  much  with  the  children. 
Never  pass  a  child  without  stopping  and  shaking  hands  with  him.  Ask  him  his  name, 
if  you  have  forgotten  it,  and  about  the  family  and  his  brothers  and  sisters.  Make  him 
think  that  you  are  thinking  about  him." 


For  printed  copies  of  a  Constitution  and  other  documents  relating 
to  Ladies'  and  Pastors'  Christian  Unions,  apply  to  Mrs.  Annie 
Wittenmyer,  1018  Arch- Street,  Philadelphia. 


For  suggestions  to  aid  in  organizing  a  Praying  Band  and  a  form 
of  Constitution,  apply  to  Joseph  Hillman,  Troy,  New  York. 

EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER  FROM  SAMUEL  HALSTED, 

President  of  tJie  New  York  Gejieral  Prayer- Meeting  Association,  organized  in  1857. 

"We  have  now  ten  members ;  twcnt>'-one  is  the  full  number.  We  renominate  and 
elect  them  every  year.  From  their  number  we  select  annually  a  Leader,  a  President, 
Vice-President,  Secretary,  and  Treasurer.  The  Leader  takes  charge  of  all  the  relig- 
ious meetings,  starting  all  tunes,  and  calling  on  the  brethren  to  exhort  or  pray,  as  he 
may  deem  advisable.  We  are  very  strict  in  the  examination  of  the  characters  of  our 
members,  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  remain  a  member  who  has  not  a  clear  record  in 
the  sight  of  the  people.  We  go  to  no  Church  unless  by  joint  written  invitation  of  the 
preacher  in  charge  and  his  official  members.  The  Churches  are  crowded  wherever  we 
go,  and  God  pours  out  his  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  people  in  a  wonderful  manner.  Blessed 
be  his  holy  name  !  Many  have  been  converted  and  have  gone  home  to  heaven  through 
the  instrumentality  of  this  Band.  I  believe  Bands  formed  in  the  various  Churches 
would  be  productive  of  much  good,  provided  they  were  conducted  by  men  of  sound 
judgment,  suitable  talents,  and  deep  religious  experience.  We  want  none  who  do  not 
feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  work,  none  who  think  noise  is  an  evidence  of  a  great  and 
good  meeting,  while  all  must  be  men  of  good  character  in  the  community,  of  standing 
in  the  Church,  and  having  the  entire  confidence  of  their  brethren.  Composed  of  such 
men  a  Band  is  powerful  for  good,  but  otherwise  composed  it  will  do  harm  instead  of 
good." 


INDEX 


PAOK. 

Acquaintance,  a  primary  necessity..  275 

Advantages  of  first 278 

Means  of 293 

Adaptation  in  sermons 348 

Of  Christian  talent 393.  399 

Power  of 240 

Administration  of  discipline 300 

Of  ordinances 285 

Advantages  of  itinerancy 54° 

Of  pastors 343.  3S8 

Of  protracted  meetings 448 

Aid,  pastoral 395 

Aid  societies 407 

Aims  of  ministers 553 

Amiability  as  a  trait  of  character. 209 

Apostasy  vitiates  authority 127 

Apostolic  Constitutions 89,   561 

Apostolic  view  of  the  ministry. 106 

Of  the  pastoral  office 164 

Appointments,  pastoral 295 

With  families 470 

Architecture  of  churches 526 

Associations,  Christian 405 

Associations  of  ministers 532 

Attitudes  of  devotion 324 

Authority,  pastoral 310 

Author's  point  of  view , 273 

Baxter  quoted 251 

Behavior  in  society,  a  minister's 491 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux  quoted 95 

Books,  circulation  of. 376 

For  the  Young 426 

Selection  of. 262 

Value  of 191 

Bramwell's  Rules  for  prayer-meetings  336 

Brevity  of  sermons 347 

Of  visits  to  the  sick 475 

Builders,  ministers  must  be 172 

Burnet,  Bishop,  quoted 94,     96 


PAGK. 

Calls,  pastoral,  not  visits 471 

Call,  the  divine 66,     74 

Historical  view 74 

Internal  and  external 126 

Ministerial,  different  stages  of in 

Practical  view 105 

Usual  modes  of. 113 

Camp-meetings 449 

Canon  of  the  mass 92 

Caughey,  J.,  quoted 429 

Celibacy,  clerical 494 

Changes  desirable  to  ministers 539 

Character,  personal  traits  of. 209 

Religious  qualities  of 225 

Study  and  acquirement  of 203 

Choice  of  Church  relations 535 

Christ  a  priest 42 

A  prophet 39 

A  teacher 41 

His  kingly  office 48 

His  sacrifice 44 

Christianity  associative 532 

The  source  of  progress 417 

Chrysostom  on  Lent 446 

The  priesthood 84 

Church  action 124 

Directories 294 

Discipline 399 

Duties  of,  to  a  pastor 303 

Edifices  essential  to  Christianity..  524 

Extension 524 

Libraries 266,   308 

Records 288 

Proper  departments  of. 290 

Special  uses  of. 291 

Relations  voluntary 535 

Church  of  England  reform 96 

Circles  for  reading 406 

Class-Leaders 395 

Meetings 340,  396 

56s 


566 


INDEX,    - 


Clerical  manners  in  company... 488 

Colleges  founded  by  ministers 515 

Colportage 377 

Commission,  the  great 61 

Committees  for  Church  purposes 405 

Companionship,  heavenly 559 

Conduct  of  prayer-meetings 334 

Confirmation 287 

Congregational  singing 324 

Connectional  relations 532 

Consistency,  importance  of 241,  355 

Consolations  of  a  pastor 558 

Conversation,  taking  the  lead  in 485 

Converts,  agency  of 444 

Co-operation  with  pastors 314 

Courage  demanded  in  ministry. 222 

Courtesy 279 

Crosby  quoted 348 

Cyprian  quoted 84 

Deacons,  appointment  of 77 

Decision  of  character 218 

Definiteness  of  aim  demanded 215 

Degeneracy,  clerical loo 

Delivery  of  sermons 352 

Dempster  referred  to 246 

Departments  of  Christian  activity. 388 

Devotion  a  demand  of  the  soul 318 

Difficulties,  pastoral 549 

Diffidence  in  ministers 478 

Dignity  as  a  trait  of  character 210 

Dignity  of  the  sacred  office  intrinsic  1 18,  553 

The  highest 553 

Directories  of  Churches 294 

Disciples  called 54 

Discretion,  importance  of 212 

Discrimination  needed 402 

Dismissal  of  members 300 

Dispensation,  Christian 37 

Mosaic 33 

Patriarchal 29 

Division  of  ministerial  labor 140 

Domestic  missions 509 

Duties  in  harmony  with  the  ministry..  141 

Of  Churches  to  pastors 303 

Of  a  pastor,  personal 244 

Public  and  official 271 

To  educational  institutions...  515 

Parents  and  children 516 

The  press 373,  518 

The  State 522 

Sunday-schools 367 

Successors 317,   548 

With  reference  to  church  building.  524 


PACK 

Ecclesiastical  systems 532 

Education,  public,  a  result  of  Chris- 
tianity.   516 

Education,  public,  a  pastor's  duty  in 

relation  to 515 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  quoted 424 

Efforts  for  revivals 443 

Elders,  appointment  of. 80 

Elements  of  Church  prosperity 529 

Elements  of  success  in  pastoral  visiting  469 

Employment  of  Christian  help 392 

Encouragements,  pastoral 552 

Energy  required  in  ministers 219 

Entertainment,  rational 406 

Enthusiasm  demanded  in  a  pastor 255 

Eucharist,  the,  an  act  of  worship 329 

Evangelism  aggressive 144 

Examination  of  class-leaders 400 

Example  of  Christ 465 

Exercise,  condition  of  health 245 

Experience  of  Church  life  and  labor...  181 

Experience  of  the  divine  call 109,   180 

Of  piety 178 

Expository  preaching 348 

Extracts,  preservation  and  use  of 268 

Faith,  an  element  of  patriarchism....     30 

Faithfulness  required 475,  479 

Fathers,  spiritual 171 

Families,  the  pastor  in  other 489 

Family,  the  pastor  in  his  own 493 

Feasts  of  charity 339 

Festivals,  Christian 446 

Finance  in  Churches 389 

Foreign  missions 510 

Frultfulness  a  test  of  the  divine  call...  130 

Fruits  of  revivals 454 

Functions,  chief,  of  the  ministry 132 

Giving,  the  duty  of. 390 

Guardianship 155,  374 

Guidance,  divine,  to  be  expected 275 

Habits  to  be  cultivated 239 

Hall,  Robert,  quoted 553 

Health  a  condition  of  usefulness 246 

Hearing,  the  duty  of. 306 

Heart-power 230,   233 

Heavenly-mindedness 225 

Herbert,  George,  quoted 486 

Holy  Spirit's  action  in  the  divine  call.  114 

Home  courtesies 503 

Home  evangelization 408 

Home  libraries 375 


INDEX, 


567 


PASK.    I 

Home  missionary  work 185 

Hopefulness  as  a  trait  of  character....  222 

Ideal  of  a  minister's  character 203 

Of  a  sermon ~  345 

Idolatry,  consequences  of. 32 

Origin 3* 

Impartiality  as  a  trait  of  character-....  216 

Independence 217 

Indexes 269 

Influence  in  society,  a  pastor's 484 

Institutions  of  Christianity 504 

Interviews,  personal,  important 463 

Introduction  of  removmg  members....  301 

Inventiveness  to  be  cultivated 240 

Itinerancy  as  a  system 500 

Itinerancy  favorable  to  a  pastor's  suc- 
cess   274,  455 

James,  the  precept  of. 473 

Judgment  corroborative  of  the  divine 
call 118 

Ken's  (Bishop)  portrait  of  a  pastor...  242 

Knowledge  essential  to  ministers 186 

Must  be  wielded 198 

Of  books 191 

Of  men  and  society 190 

Lamb  of  God  slain 159 

Lay-helpers 384 

Lay-preaching,  object  of 409 

Origin  of. 102 

Leaders  of  classes 395 

Leaders  of  classes,  female 398 

Legislation  affected  by  Christianity...  554 
Libraries  of  Churches 266 

Of  families 375 

Library,  a  minister's 261 

Essential  departments  of 264 

Listening  to  others  a  pastoral  duty 464 

Local  preachers 411 

Love-feasts 336 

Love  Indispensable 226,  236 

Luther  quoted 95 

Macaulay  quoted 481 

Machinery,  physical  and  moral 415 

Magnanimity  demanded 418 

Marriage,  hints  concerning 495 

Martyr,  Justin,  quoted S3 

Mass,  canons  concerning 92 

Masses,  the,  must  be  reached 232 

Maxfield,  Thomas 102 


Means  of  promoting  revivals 43J 

Success  In  pastoral  visiting 470 

Meetings  for  prayer 332 

For  religious  inquiry 339 

Of  religious  classes 34° 

Members,  dismissal  of..... 300 

Lists  of. 277 

Reception  of 282,  284 

Messiah,  a  shepherd 158 

Messianic  offices 38 

Methodism  and  the  pastorate 457 

Methodism  a  revival 422 

A  system  of  Evangelic  aggression  455 

Ministers  quickened  by  revivals 429 

Subject  to  persecution 5^ 

Ministry,  apostolic  idea  of. ~....  62,     64 

Instituted  by  Christ S3.     75 

Objects  of "9 

Scriptural  view  of. 66 

Mission  of  the  Twelve 55 

Of  the  Seventy 56 

Missions  and  Sunday-schools. 37» 

Mission  schools 4^3 

Missions,  domestic 5^9 

Foreign -  5"° 

Model  home,  the  pastor's  a yti 

Monasticism,  origin  of- 89 

Morals,   public,   improved  by  Chris- 
tianity   554 

Moshelm's  theory  of  apostolic  schools    69 

Motives  for  pastoral  visiting 479 

For  thorough  preparation 131 

Insufficient 122 

To  labor  for  revivals 424 

Mottoes 222,  259,  393,  4c8 

Newspapers 267 

Writing  for S'8 

Obkdience  to  pastors 3'° 

Objects  of  class-meetings 401 

Pastoral  visiting 460 

Obligations,  official,  of  pastors 271 

Obstacles  to  pastoral  visiting 479 

Office  of  a  preacher 344 

Offices,  general  religious 26 

Messianic 37 

Olin.  Dr.,  quoted 115,   120 

Omens,  bad,- of  success 200 

Open-air  preaching ^\o 

Oplatus,  quoted 82 

Ordination  compulsory 149 

Ritual  of 93 

Significance  of. 147.   151 


568 


INDEX, 


PAGE. 

Ordination  vows 97 

Organization  needed 386 

Origin  of  idolatry 31 

Sacrifices 26 

Ornament  in  style 346 

Overseers,  pastors  must  be 170 

Parochial  relation  unstable 537 

Pastor,  the,  a  peace-maker 296 

In  society 481 

Pastoral  duties  indicated 134 

Epistles  quoted 165 

Office  appointed 137 

Preliminary  views  of. 153 

Pastorate,  the,  a  teaching  office 166 

Patriarchal  dispensation 29 

Paul,  call  and  appointment  of 77 

Periodicals  a  pastoral  help 379 

Perseverance  necessary 221 

Personal  duties 244 

Peter's  precepts 165 

Plan  for  dividing  time 252 

Pleasures  of  the  itinerancy 543 

Pledges  of  Christian  work 391 

Pluralities 94 

Policy  of  the  Church 412 

Political  relations  and  duties  of  min- 
isters   522 

Portrait  of  a  pastor 242 

Prayer  for  laborers 184 

Pastors 309 

Revivals 437 

Meetings 331,  453 

Personal 355 

Public 324 

Essentials  of. 326,  329 

Praying  Bands 413,  564 

Preaching,  importance  of. 343 

Office  of 132 

Perpetual  obligation  of 144 

Preparation,  a  call  to 120 

For  pastoral  visiting 469 

Revivals 435 

Successors 319 

Worship 321 

Press,  power  of  the 373 

Writing  for  the 518 

Priesthood,  Christian,  true  idea  of....     81 

Perverted 82 

Hierarchical,  a  usurpation 52 

Jewish 34 

Of  Christ 42 

Pagan 31 

Privilege  of  study 258 


rAOK. 

Probationers,  enrollment  and  care  of..  383 

Promises  of  revivals 425 

Prophetic  reproofs 468 

Prophets,  Christian 39 

Jewish 36 

Protracted  meetings 445 

Providential  guidance 124 

Public  charities 505 

Pulpit  a  throne  of  power 342 

Qualifications  to  be  sought...  145,  177 

Reading  circles 406 

Habits  of 268 

Public,  of  the  Scriptures 327 

Reception  of  pastors 304 

Recognition  of  acquaintances 276 

Record-book  of  a  pastor 270 

Reformation,  the  great,  a  revival 422 

Relations,  connectional,  of  pastors 536 

Ecclesiastical,  of  pastors 532 

To  neighboring  pastors 546 

Reputation  not  identical  with  character  203 

Should  be  guarded 312 

Requisites  of  a  pastor's  library 263 

Responsibilities  of  the  pastorate 153 

Results  of  ministerial  labor 553 

Revival,  the  Wesleyan 101 

Revivals  and  revival  agencies 419 

Divine  plan  concerning 421 

Essential  importance  of. 433 

History 434 

Seasons  of  harvest 430 

Rewards  of  a  faithful  pastor 558 

Ritualistic  theory 142 

Sabbath  a  day  of  worship 320 

Sacerdotal  idea 88 

System 90 

Sacrifice  of  Christ  perfect 51 

Sacrifices,  patriarchal 28 

Primeval 26 

Schools  of  the  Apostles 70 

Theological 201 

Self-knowledge,  importance  of 186 

Means  of 189 

Sentinel,    the    parson    as,    quotation 

from  Herbert 486 

Sermon  a  growth 351 

Ideal  of 345 

Settlements,  pastoral 536 

Shepherd,  Christ,  the  chief. 158 

Shepherds  of  Christ,  Christian  pastors  163 
Sick,  claims  of  the 452 


INDEX. 


569 


Singing  an  element  of  worship 323 

Sites  of  churches  should  be  selected...  527 

Solicitude,  pastoral,  for  the  young 372 

Sprague,  Dr.,  quoted 428 

Spurgeon  quoted 349,   355 

Stevens,  Dr.,  quoted 102,  422 

Stewardship,  ministerial 173 

Strangers,  duties  to 302,  404 

Study,  a  privilege 258 

Hard,  not  dangerous 261 

Subjects  classified 268 

Succession,  ministerial 68,   175 

Pastoral 548 

Tactual 150 

Sunday-schools 359 

A  pastor's  duty  to 367 

Support  of  pastors 307,  316 

Sursutn  Corda,  a  glorious  motto 222 

Sympathy,  a  pastoral  qualification 228 

Of  Churches  with  pastors 315 

System,  advantages  of 254 

Of  book  and  tract  circulation  373,  383 

Taylor,  Isaac,  quoted 456 

Teachers,  ministerial 166 

Temperance 505 

Testimony  concerning  revivals 428 

Tests  of  a  divine  call 129 

Theological  schools 201 

Theology,  classification  of. 195 

Importance  of 193 

Theories  of  the  ministry 142 

Theory  and  practice  should  be  united.   199 

Tholuck  quoted 349 

Thought  increased  by  expression 521 

Time,  distribution  of 252 

Must  be  redeemed 248 

Topical  study 258 

Tract  distribution 381 

Training  demanded 197 

Transubstantiation,  the  germ  of...  87,     91 

Travail  of  soul   for  souls 239 

Trials  of  a  pastor 551 

48 


PACK 

Under-shepherds  appointed 163 

Union  efforts 403 

For  private  prayer 406 

Of  ladies  and  pastors 407 

Variety  demanded  in  preaching 347 

Variations  of  pastoral  duty 156 

Various  forms  of  Christian  work 504 

Visiting,  pastoral 459 

Illustrated  from  Scripture 465 

Volume  circulation. 380 

Voluntary  system 157 

Vows,  ministerial 98,   151 

Watchman,  Pastors  should  be...  169,  374 
Webster's    argument   on    ministerial 

usefulness 483 

Welcome  to  strangers 302 

To  the  pastor 304 

Wesley— appointment  of  class-leaders  398 

On  improvement  of  time 250 

Prayer-meetings 331 

Press 376 

Sunday-schools 361 

Visiting  the  sick 477 

Wheels  of  fire 357 

Wife,  the  pastor's 498 

Woman's  work  in  the  Church 407 

Works  demanded  of  Christians...  385,  414 

Pledged  by  Church  members 391 

Required  of  ministers 550 

Various  forms  of. 415 

Worship  in  social  scenes 341 

Pastor  a  leader  of. 318 

Places  of. 524 

Systems  of. 319 

Wrestling  with  God 356 

Writing  for  the  press 519 

Young  converts,  agency  of. 455 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associations..  507 

Zeal  essential  to  ministers 235 


